The quartet of guitarist
Scott Fields, pianist
Marilyn Crispell,
Larry Ochs on tenor and sopranino, and cellist Matt Turner performs the very lengthy "Sonotropism" and three brief pieces. The music is avant-garde, mostly atonal, episodic, moody, and completely unpredictable. Usually tightly controlled and sometimes utilizing written-out ensembles that are closer in sound to modern classical music than jazz, these pieces (particularly "Sonotropism") are rather forbidding, eerie, and a bit spooky in spots. But the main fault is that, despite the high musicianship of the participants, the music is quite dull, never inviting the listener back for a second listen. ~ Scott Yanow