The so-called cool style of West Coast jazz has influenced the genre of free improvisation in very limited ways. This recording is a conscious, though ultimately flawed, attempt by saxophonist/clarinetist
Guillermo Gregorio
to merge these seemingly disparate elements and couple them with modern European classical impulses. While
Gregorio
bravely gives it the good old college try, the results miss the mark, in part because of the tedium that may be inherent in this fusion.
is joined only by saxophonist
Mats Gustafsson
and percussionist
Kjell Nordeson
, and it is particularly interesting to see the young Swede is challenged by a setting with which he is not usually identified. Unfortunately, the generally slow, low volume, improvised pieces found here tend to ramble and do not fulfill the expectations of the illustrious talent represented. ~ Steve Loewy