Some avant-garde jazz is more accessible than expected due to the use of themes, repetition, and unexpectedly catchy rhythms.
Flowers of Peace has none of that. The set of six free improvisations are quite intuitive with all three players functioning as equals. Sometimes they react in logical ways to each other and on other occasions they seem to all be soloing at once. Most remarkable are the wide variety of sounds achieved by bassist
Joëlle Léandre, which are frequently otherworldly and sometimes achieve the effect of a hypnotic drone. Drummer Ramon Lopez's approach is as close to a percussionist as to that of a drummer, while pianist
Sophia Domancich plays pretty free throughout without dominating the musical democracy. Some will find this improvised set to be fascinating, while others will be a bit annoyed by the sounds. Either way,
Flowers of Peace is intriguing and should be explored by those who are open to sound explorations. ~ Scott Yanow