From personal experience I know that Werner X. Uehlinger — foreman of Hat Hut, of which HatOLOGY is the "jazz" branch — is a man who, to this day, maintains a pair of wide open ears. Just take a look at the label's catalog to see what we mean. Granted, you can acknowledge certain names and recordings more than others; it's only natural. Still, the range of artists who have had efforts published by the Swiss imprint has been consistently impressive, encompassing a considerable number of accomplished players — present and past — in varying combinations.

Aside from a hint to GNU/Linux designer Richard Stallman that remains obscure to this uneducated writer, ...don't buy him a parrot... was born from reedist Christoph Erb's increased acquaintance with the Chicago scene, pianist Jim Baker and percussionist Frank Rosaly being regulars there. Here Erb doubles on tenor sax and bass clarinet, the latter in particular evidence on the excellent (and brilliantly named) "For Canaries, Career Opportunities In The Mining Industry", the longest track on offer. All the four segments showcase a rather ineffable variety of free playing, deprived of veritable references yet unquestionably jazz-rooted. Indeed this appears as a meeting of musicians looking to create consequential sonorities without a definite idea about the procedures. Trusting the muse of spontaneity would suffice.

As a matter of fact the action is thoroughly intelligible, offering a bird's-eye view of intersecting individualities not really interested in the apology of collectivity. One focuses on the single instrumentalist for a few moments, memorizes the graphics of his acoustic projection and sees how that works across the three-way conversation. Erb's classy impertinence is a pleasure to hear when coupled to Baker's obstinate turbulences and crystalline digressions. Rosaly, who knows a drum set's components inside and out (check his superb solo album Malo on Utech for concrete proof) is a responsive propeller, outspread fantasy and accurate needlework explicated with the same ease.

Self-balancing and elegantly complex at once, this music grows with each new listen. It surely deserves to be saved from the archives of the unsung.