Christine Santelli is a longtime NYC blues mainstay. Heather Hardy is a fiddler who calls Tucson home these days. The two of them got together for a couple of dates last year, playing nine Santelli songs, three from Hardy and one traditional tune (the title track). This set is one part retrospective and one part reimagination, and both paths succeed impressively.

Christine Santelli and Heather Hardy Live in the Parlour (self-released)

Santelli plays both acoustic and electric sets depending on the venue and her band du jour. This set is totally pared down: just Santelli's guitar, Hardy's fiddle and their voices. Each performance is a true collaboration. Both sing on each song, and the unusual acoustic combo brings a more intimate feel. The recording is spectacular, with none of that annoying tinny sound that acoustic strings can accumulate when recorded out of studio. Other than the applause, this could be a studio effort.

Hardy's fiddle really fleshes out Santelli's songs. It soars, swoops and adds a vulnerable texture that raises these songs to something truly arresting. And while this set-up seems more appropriate to an americana sound--and at times I flashed back to the astonishing Neko Case/Carolyn Mark Corn Sisters album--at no point do these songs escape the blues. I don't know how long Hardy and Santelli rehearsed, but these renditions are seamless. Rather than the product of a two-off, this album sounds like the result of a long-running collaboration.

Serendipity must be appreciated wherever it might be found. Santelli and Hardy sound like natural collaborators. Perhaps one day they might be convinced to write an album together. We'll just have to accept these bountiful fruits for now. I had no idea what I was going to hear when I started listening. I ended up craving another helping. Spellbinding.

Jon Worley