Two Is One

I've heard only a few titles from the Strata-East label, but what I've heard sounds good. They definitely had a focused vision albeit a limited number of releases in the 70s. A lot of what this album means is right there in the title: Two Is One, a simple truth picked up from something Thelonious Monk used to say to Rouse. Those three words pack a lot of meaning, though, so unpacking the mystery is, in my opinion, up to the listener. Of course the title could be alluding to two people becoming one flesh in marriage. That's low-hanging fruit. But I like to think of it as two becoming one when blended, which is exactly what Rouse is doing on this album, departing from his bop roots, stepping outside what he's used to, and exploring funk and the more spiritual side of jazz. In that exercise of creative freedom, the artist finds joy in a conscious, forged unity of musical possibilities.