Mayday Session: Live on Sonarchy in Bloomington, MN

Two-thirds of the group formerly known as
Flatland
return for a new debut with this one, a recording of a live improv session on one of Seattle's better
avant-garde
radio stations. The music is relatively similar to that of
, with the notable removal of a bass and addition of a sax, courtesy of
Saul Cline
, a session player occasionally with
Matt Jorgensen + 451
. The atmosphere is particularly spacey here, but generally aims for the relaxed mood rather than the excited improv of the classic free jazzers (
Ornette Coleman
,
Albert Ayler
, etc). There is some movement here and there, generally clashing sounds until a coherent whole can emerge from the wreckage. It's a nice romp through contemporary electric
free jazz
, a subgenre that too often finds its way into
rock fusion
anymore. ~ Adam Greenberg