REVIEW Henry Kaiser has the gift. Whether it's the gift of empathy, of friendship, or simply a more pragmatic gift for creative collaboration isn't clear, but I think it's one of the first two. These guitar duos go all the way back to 1977, and "Wheels Right and Left" with the saintly Davey Williams, coming right up to date with "Infinitum Ad-Infinitum" with the currently omnipresent Ian Brighton. The set starts, properly enough, with "Chrysanthemums", a 1993 meeting with Derek Bailey, just a minute and a half in length, but it ends, even more appropriately with a much longer piece with John Russell called "Split the Difference". In between, you'll find warm, sometimes hilarious selfies with Nels Cline, Fred Frith, Jim O'Rourke, Elliott Sharp, Eugene Chadbourne, Bill Frisell, but also a few less familiar names like Debashish Bhattacharya, Sandy Ewen, Chris Muir and Roberto Zorzi; all this just laboured enough to suggest the range and warmth of Kaiser's creative relationships. These are, as he explains in a minimal sleevenote, friends who became heroes who became friends. Throughout the set, Kaiser always seems to be the one who does the give and go stuff, always moving out of the way when his companion lets rip; sometimes dropping in a gentle riposte or interjection, but with an instinct for musical space that reminds me strangely of jazz guitarist Jim Hall. As an anthology, it's obviously not as varied as the Toop-notch Guitars on Mars or as startling as Fred Frith's famed 1970s guitar compilations, but this isn't really an anthology, more of a musical photo album, and it'll leave you feeling warm and nostalgic, saying things like, "That's never Jim O'Rourke, is it? Look at his hair." Henry's the one who doesn't change, precisely because he's never the same twice. And that's another gift. --Brian Morton, The Wire...But it's the opening track "Chrysanthemums" with the late Derek Bailey that's probably the key to the whole thing, Kaiser revealing that the great guitar improvising innovator was, in his words, "the primary reason that I started to play guitar in the first place"; and this very short duet with Bailey is surprisingly congruent. Other of Kaiser's heroes include Bill Frisell and they are both heard duetting on "The Very Last Of The Very Few" which is presented as an electronic soundscape. British improv guitarist Ian Brighton, another early disciple of Bailey's is heard to great effect on "Infinitum Ad-Infinitum" as is fellow British improviser John Russell, again one of Bailey's renowned acolyte's, who features on the final track "Split The Difference" which works well. On "Skipper Sedley," a duet with Eugene Chadbourne the distinction between the two guitarists is unclear but the listener could hazard a guess that Chadbourne is playing the improvised tune whilst Kaiser offers chordal accompaniment, but the reverse could be true!... --Roger Farbey, All About Jazz