d'une rive a l'autre, sylvain guerineau, itaru oki, kent carter, makoto sako

If a well-chosen international quartet playing cutting-edge free jazz sounds interesting to you, d'une rive a l'autre (Improvising Beings ib47) is a new release you should consider.

Each artist in the quartet has honed his sound over the years. The four make a grand noise together in five well-paced segments. The band is comprised of Sylvain Guerineau on tenor sax, Itaru Oki on trumpet, flugelhorn and flutes, Kent Carter on double bass, and Makoto Sato on drums.

There is inspiration to be heard throughout. The band has a real feel for dynamics, so that you get a spectrum of sounds from the introspective to the stormy.

It is a commonplace to expect a band like this to listen, or conversely to NOT listen to one another. The album gives you interactive interplay and a four-way independence at times for a varied and absorbing result.

No doubt, all four give us some of their most considered work here. It's avant improv that goes its own way and does it with maximum creativity.

Kudos to the quartet and for Improvising Beings for putting this out! Highly recommended.