Five whole years since their last emergence from their underwater existence, the enigmatic amphibious duo have surfaced again to grace us with their otherworldly sound. This time they took to the streets of Berkeley, California—yes, that legendary radical left hippy town where innumerable minds have melted over the ages.
It’s precisely such strolling in the afternoon Bay Area sun that led them to encounter Cloud Precious and Greta Pin, a young couple bass-and-drums duo playing some intricate nastiness outside The Starry Plough, Berkeley’s self-proclaimed revolutionary pub.
Bonding was instant. Some subterranean recognition of shared endorsement of the bizarre blew sparks in the air, and the vision was settled. Notnef Greco became a quartet!
The four of them sequestered themselves at Sinking Ship Studios for three days and nights of uninterrupted musical invention. From these many hours of free improvisation as a quartet emerged five long pieces that, along with snippets of solo or duo breaks of Count and Deviant on their own, form this remarkable record.
Unlike anything that Notnef Greco has done before, The Berkeley Sessions brim with warmth and spontaneity, sonic adventure and collective spirit—in many ways, it is a jazz experiment. Asked about their quizzical water existence, the old duo have whimsically inferred that they may indeed have hit land for good.
