is one of the finest jazz string quartets of the late 1990s. Their debut recording finds the ensemble (consisting of leader on cello, violinists and , and on viola) playing a wide variety of music. The style ranges from rag and the gospel-like to pieces that are classical-oriented, and the freely improvised Swinging string ensembles are still a rarity, particularly ones where all four musicians can improvise at this high level. Highly recommended. ~ Scott Yanow