Here's a twist that's full-on bent: making funky . It's true that, like on his album in the late '70s, has decided to add programming and synths to his mix for this disc, to at least walk a tightrope between art and the music of the street. For any of you groaning as you read this, give it up -- this disc is one of 's very best and one of the first really new things to come across on the American front in over a decade. The band is comprised of on piano, on contrabass, replacing on saxophone and flute, on drums, and on synths and programming. 's methodology is one of shifting rhythmic hypnosis and inquiry along scaled intervals and striated harmonic pathways that lead through the middle registers of both the saxophone and the piano. is a keen example of how employs an ostinato line that changes itself ever so slightly in each chorus, is treated by with tweaked programming moves that underscore the rhythmic line, and allows to roll around the changes between and . In other places, such as on which opens the album, the funky line sets the pace for a six-chord thematic statement by . lays in the cut with , allowing the and roll to slip dramatically into a hypnotic groove that flows into 's solo. Rather than a flurry of middle- and upper-register notes and chords, concentrates on establishing intervallic patterns that dig deeper into the thematic material and "deepen the ," if you will, by modalizing its context. The disc closes with an angular off-minor move with interplay and polyrhythmic accents by over a 5/8 figure as close ranks with the extensions of line and syntax in repetitive phrases that revolve around the rhythmic construct and move beyond it without leaving the groove. This is truly a new way of approaching , a new way of hearing the intricacies of rhythmic counterpoint and textured harmonics that syncopate the entire methodology of composition and into a holistic view of the music as pulse and force. has clearly outdone himself this time, and the that he coordinates on continues to be one of the bravest and most exciting series of recordings in today. ~ Thom Jurek