MacDonald is a Scottish saxophonist and composer, who has worked with open-minded rock musicians (David Byrne, Jim O'Rourke) as well as free jazz and improv players. Crispell, an American pianist and composer who played with Anthony Braxton for 10 years and has also worked regularly with Reggie Workman, is perhaps not an immediately obvious match. In a sense, though, that's the strength of these duets, which benefit from a sense of two musicians occasionally in contrary motion: finding their way together through moments of tension as well as resolve, a myriad of possibilities at every moment. On the whole, though, the album works because so often the pair move in parallel, in keeping not only with the title but also with the cover art: two smears of paint credited to MacDonald. The tracks, some of which were recorded live as part of the 2010 London Jazz Festival, are contemplative and delicate, although faster flurries now and then give us the sound of surprise.