Drummer
Michel Lambert's five-part work "The Wanderer" (in French it is "Le Passant") opens up this CD. It matches together improvisers with nonimprovising but virtuosic classical musicians, pitting them against each other rather than seeking a blend. The seven remaining selections on this CD are free improvisations (most of them fairly brief) inspired by the orchestral suite. Individually, there are colorful moments from tenor saxophonist
Ellery Eskelin, the remarkable violinist
Malcolm Goldstein, and bassist
Dominic Duval. But as a composition,
Le Passant is not all that memorable and sounds as random as some of the improvisations. The overall results should interest those with ears open to sound explorations but not those interested in third stream works.