Roscoe Mitchell is of course one of the figureheads of free jazz, a long time member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and nowadays productive in smaller settings, duets and trios. On this double CD he is accompanied by Harrison Bankhead (bass, cello) and Vincent Davis (drums) , to bring 24 compositions varying between 2 and 14 minutes. The trio improvizes along structural patterns, and the interplay and technical skills of the three musicians, and then especially Mitchell himself, are excellent. And yet, ...yet ... to me one of the essential ingredients for good music is lacking : soul! The whole album sounds very thought-through, well-conceived, but where is the anguish, the pain, the sadness, the joy, the pleasure of playing music? Once in a while all hell breaks loose, such as in the long "Parched Plains" or "Enfold" or"Shake Up", but otherwise this CD sounds very restrained and composed, and comes in my opinion close to modern classical music, sometimes esthetically beautiful, and creatively interesing. And yet ... Emotions, Roscoe, emotions
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