Susie Ibarra & Min Xiao-Fen at Firehouse 12

The capacity crowd chatters in anticipation, emitting a dense mosaic of conversational rhythms into the creative space. Even the small talk takes on a musical tone at Firehouse 12, New Haven's newest jazz venue. The club's performance space also functions as a state-of-the-art recording studio, and the meticulous design offers every listener optimal aural delights.

Adding to our pleasures, this summer's initial series of concerts curated by guitarist Joe Morris has been deliciously varied. Following pianist Matthew Shipp's christening gig, Firehouse 12 has featured the delerious drums of Dutch master Han Bennink, unsung tenor saxophone hero Joe McPhee, bassist Chris Lightcap's buoyant arrangements for quintet, the strings-cum-reed lushness of the Rob Brown Trio, and more.

Tonight's lineup offers further surprise, as Ms. Ibarra is one of those rare percussionists who serves up not only unique tempi, but flowing melody from her kit as well. Moreover, after she and distinguished pipa player Min Xiao-Fen have taken the stage, the audience is informed that the duo is performing together in concert for the first time.

Their ensuing set is nevertheless a showcase of intuition and expertise, Ibarra's shifting rhythms meshing with the Chinese string instrument and mesmerizing the crowd. Where much avant music finds its innovations in angles, the elements of this music are supple and curved--during one gorgeous piece, the percussionist plays a bowl of stones as accompaniment to the exquisitely plucked pipa. At such moments her duties seem far outside those of the traditional timekeeper. Rather, the time becomes one with the musicians' imagination, and all present are truly brought inside the music.

Melodic references to Western standards seem to reach out to any listeners needing to alight on the familiar: Miles Davis' "All Blues" appears within an extended solo, and Xiao-Fen makes merry with sizzling incorporation of a traditional Appalachian fiddle melody she dubs "The Red-Haired Boy Dances With The Dragon." For me, this concert's most sublime passages were those which seemed most inspired by the wind, gentle then tempestuous by swift turns. Eschewing sticks and brushes, Ibarra on one song played her entire kit using hand cymbals to strike the skins, breaking the rhythms into a myriad of propeller-like vibrations.