Surprising that back in the heyday of early Free Jazz, these two men's paths hardly crossed at all. Perhaps because the worlds they performed in were separated by the mainstream"/"underground" gulf: Ali being John Coltrane's last drummer of choice and Grimes working with Cecil Taylor and Albert Ayler. Water under the bridge, as this recording finally pairs them. Even forgetting their individual pedigrees, this is a heartfelt and well-played set of duets.

Recorded in concert at Columbia University's WKCR studios, the sound is clean and alive, not overly "produced". "Hidden Forces Aggregate", credited to Ali, begins with a short, very melodic drum solo before Grimes joins and the filigree starts to thicken. The bassist seems to have lost nothing in the years he spent not touching his instrument, his tone is strong and he's as fast as ever. What is new here is the recitations of poems by Grimes, which add a sporadic third voice to the proceedings. (Apparently his "silent years" were filled with poetry writing and painting, and a few of his drawings are included in the accompanying booklet.) "Gone Beyond the Gate" has the bassist briefly switching to violin (reminding me of another duet record that Ali made with Leroy Jenkins in the '70's), before shifting down into a quiet space with occasional pops from Ali's brushes. A bit of arco, harmonics flying, and then back and forth between fingers and bow, almost in a duet with himself as the drums goad and exclaim. Eventually the volume comes back up a bit and they dance nimbly.

The last tune starts with a short dialogue, which sounds like maybe there were other takes. "You gonna start right from the beginning?" If bass and drums are the core of most types of jazz, then this set does start from the beginning, from the ground, so to speak. The liner notes tell you to "listen as you read". I suggest you just listen.