This fourth effort is by far Not Missing Drums Project's best album to date. While the previous ones tended to lack focus, multiplying short tracks, guest contributors, and approaches, The Gay Avantgarde has a clear purpose. Joachim Gies (saxophones, keyboards) and Thomas B”hm-Christl (cello, keyboards) have selected texts from the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, particularly those pertaining to music, and set them in contexts that add an interpretive dimension. The lineup is restricted to six musicians: the two leaders plus trombonist J”rg Huke, bassist Matthias Bauer (who also doubles as speaker), Alex Nowitz (voice and effects), and mezzo-soprano Ute D”ring. The ten pieces take the general form of a contemporary song cycle, with D”ring occupying center stage. Each track offers a different dosage of certain basic elements: composition versus free improvisation, contemporary classical versus jazz, acoustic (two horns, two strings) versus electronic (keyboards and treatments), singing versus speaking, legibility (written text) versus gibberish (vocal improvisation). If this breakdown sounds mechanical, the music doesn't. Nothing is stated in black or white; the interest of each piece resides in the displacements on these various axes and how a whole set of choices enriches the philosopher's aphorisms. It's simply brilliant, both as concept and result. Luckily, the booklet includes English translations. ~ Fran‡ois Couture

This recording session involving leaders Pandelis Karayorgis and Mat Maneri along with their supporting cast (Tony Malaby, Michael Formanek, and Randy Peterson -- all musicians they had both worked with before) was put together hastily. It falls to the jazzmen's credit that Disambiguation sounds so unforced and rehearsed, and flows so naturally. The pianist and violist know each other well enough to share a level of comfort that often finds improv musicians turning lazy and remaining on previously charted ground. If this quintet doesn't explore new, cutting-edge territories, it sure can't be accused of laziness. Karayorgis came up with five loose compositions: heads and sub-group sequences (a bass/piano duet here, a trio section there, etc.). The group members made the music their own (rather than "learned" it) and recorded it as if they had been playing it for years. Nothing here stands out of the ordinary: the pianist's tumbling lines, Maneri's deep viola lines, the rhythm section playing in and out often at the same time. Detractors of free jazz will say that this has been done before, and so forth. But these five players do it well, more than that they do it casually. Unpretentiously, like it is their everyday bread and butter, they pour their hearts and souls into Karayorgis' post-bop themes (that Monk signature again in the opening theme of "Three Plus Three"), break down their sound into every possible combination of players to show everything they can do, and bring it softly "Home" in the end. All in a day's work, right? Disambiguation is the work of professionals still thrilled by what they do. ~ Fran‡ois Couture

This version of one of the great and often underappreciated jazz groups of the modern era features trumpeter Herb Robertson with the usual all-star rhythm section of bassist Joe Fonda, pianist Michael Jefry Stevens, and drummer Harvey Sorgen. The co-leaders share the responsibility for the compositions and arrangements, the intricacy and delicacy of which are a large part of what gives this group its distinct character. If the sensitive nature of some of the pieces causes anyone to question whether any of these players have chops, Fonda wrote the riveting "Fast," for an uplifting, blistering workout. Robertson is the sort of brass player who sends up an endless array of spidery, rubber phrases that wail with the authenticity of a laughing coyote. Favoring mutes and always throwing in touches of humor, the trumpeter impresses with his agility, range, and command. One strength of the quartet is the ability and willingness of each of its idiosyncratic members to subordinate to the ensemble sound. Fonda is a gas when he sings lightly while his fingers bounce along in solo, while co-leader Stevens' more abstractly intellectual approach adds a classically infused element, tempered by his sense of swing. The quality of sound is a bit subpar on the three live numbers, but overall this is another highly satisfying outing from this outstanding ensemble that bills itself as the Fonda-Stevens Group. ~ Steven Loewy