"Crossover" can be an elusive thing for jazz musicians, but the German quartet Root 70 got a leg up on that front in 2006 when they collaborated with Burnt Friedman on Heaps Dub, an ambitious suite of cover versions of Friedman's computer-assisted "hyper-jazz" (both solo and, with Atom Heart, as Flanger). Friedman in turn chopped up their sessions and rearranged them into hyper-hyper-jazz morsels that nonetheless lost nothing of the musicians 'supple, muscular playing.

Released the same year, Fahrvergnügen offers a more unadulterated picture of the group. Opener "Breathing" is sure to entrance fans of Heaps Dub's melancholic counterpoints: group leader Nils Wogram (trombone), Hayden Chisolm (alto saxophone) and Matt Penman (double bass) carve long, lyrical lines in close harmony, tripping from major to minor while drummer Jochen Rückert lays down a cushion of brushed cymbals and snare rolls. Chisholm's solo playing is particularly breathtaking here: sweet, lyrical and searching.

Songs like "Desert," "The Lake" and "Slow Mill" share the opening cut's ruminative, andante feel, making ample space for the players to stretch out and open up. A few cuts — "The Myth," "Bird's Trip" — emphasize a more aggressive, up-tempo approach, but even there a sense of… read more »