Confusion Bleue, Total Improvisations, 2007

I covered several weeks ago a newer re- cording by Con- fusion Bleue (see index). Today we go back a little to an earlier recording made by the unit, a studio date from 2007. Total Improvisation (Soul Note) is a disk with some very good moments of collective and individual contributions, all spontaneously improvised except a version of Miles' "Blue in Green."

The rhythm section of Ray Sage (drums) and Tyler Goodwin (bass) is busy, tumultuous, hot, setting the stage well for Ross Bonadonna on guitars and Nobu Stowe on piano and electric piano. As on the later disk Lee Pembleton handles the live mix in ways that occasionally give an expanded electro-acoustic dimension to the sound.

Stowe is in a very varied mood for the date, covering rubato expressiveness, all-over chargings forward, rock-jazz straight-eight and areas in between. Ross gets some beautiful noting in, has a pronounced electricity when needed and adds a little alto sax too that does not detract.

And in the end one is especially impressed with the many places this music goes and the leverage that makes most of the forays kickingly valuable. A mostly great set from a band I wish we could hear again!

Vinny Golia, Marco Eneidi, Lisa Mezzacappa, Vijay Anderson, Hell-Bent in the Pacific

When you have four excellent players known for their instant compositional improvisations at your disposal (so to speak), you give them some studio time and hope they get something great going. That's sometimes the plan and in the case of Golia, Eneidi, Mezzacappa and Anderson's Hell-Bent in the Pacific (No Business CD 49) it comes off nicely.

This is a free yet self-structured session with some wonderful rhythm-section energy (Mezzacappa and Anderson) and reed velocitation (Golia and Eneidi). Vinny and Lisa sound especially good, but Marco and Vijay spar with them with a tightly knit looseness of great power.

It's one of those sessions that flies out of the speakers at you. Latch on!