Composer Heiner Stadler’s arrangements use the very advanced harmonies of modern classical music while leaving space for avant-garde improvisations. This CD is comprised of six songs taken from five separate sessions. “The Fugue #2″ from December 1966 has some surprisingly adventurous solos from a sextet that includes trumpeter Jimmy Owens, tenor saxophonist Joe Farrell and trombonist Garnett Brown, a similar group from October 1973 (with Tyrone Washington in Farrell’s place) is heard on “Pointed” and guitarist Mark Elf is featured solo and in a duet with drummer Brian Brake on two versions of “Moving Toward You.” Most remarkable is Dee Dee Bridgewater’s hair-raising vocal on “Love in the Middle of the Air” which she performs in duet with bassist Reggie Workman; however this 16-minute exercise in getting the maximum use out of a minimum of words only really needs to be heard once. Actually the most rewarding piece is also the longest, the 29½-minute “Clusterity” which utilizes an all-star European sextet plus the Northern German Radio big band. Cornetist Manfred Schoof and trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff take spectacular solos but overall this challenging, often-disturbing and chancetaking avant-garde CD is for specialized tastes. – Scott Yanow
more »