Various Artists: CIMPhonia 1998 Part 2

This is not an anthology but seven musicians gathered for a session of different combinations of instruments-two duos, three trios, a quintet and two septets. Joe McPhee plays soprano sax and pocket trumpet; Mark Whitecage soprano sax and clarinets; Paul Smoker is on trumpet; David Prentice on violin; Dominic Duval and Peter Kowald play bass; and Jay Rosen is the drummer. Rosen certainly makes a strong impression: at times directing traffic, at others almost inaudible, and helping the overall flow immeasurably. Prentice and all the horns are impressive soloists, and both bass players are excellent on the tracks where one or the other is featured. But in some ways, the most interesting moments occur in the larger group improvs, when Duval and Kowald fill the background with an ever-changing tapestry of sound, over which the horns engage in brass or reed duets.