These discs are "installations," a part of the "From The Art Studio" series of abstract artist/painter and musician (mainly electric guitar but also piano, violin, trumpet, percussion and programming) Jeff Shurdut, who has been called an "intellectual provocateur" by Cecil Taylor, all recorded live during 2003 around Shurdut's paintings in his New York City studio. Shurdut aims in these audio installations to "document the essential connection between the visual, music, and word in a LIVING and creative space." But you can't really document such performances outside the buzzing atmosphere of the studio with Shurdut's paintings, even though Shurdut knows how to find great collaborators.

The first "installation" features seven free improv collaborations between Shurdut's main co-conspirator, sax player Sabir Mateen (a member of the longstanding quartet Test, and duo partner with drummers Sunny Murray and Hamid Drake, among others) and Shurdut, with largely disjointed, feedback heavy, raw guitar playing. Shurdut's guitar playing is close to what one might expect from Sonic Youth guitarists Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore in their most free states, but it is much less sophisticated of the walls of sound that, say, guitarist Nels Cline creates with bass player Devin Sarno. Mateen does his best to find his place through the Shurdut's stormy walls of noise, but succeeds only on his solo elegiac piece, "Even The Sun Comes and Goes," and on the last sax/guitar duet, "Coming Undone," while on the other pieces he is sorely missed. The second piece, "Oh! Mother Selfless," dedicated to Shurdut's mother, features dancer Treva Offutt singing a gospel over Mateen's sax wailing and Shurdut noisy violin playing. It is the most surprising piece among 70 minutes of disappointing results.

The second "installation" features Mateen with guitarist Bern Nix (Ornette Coleman's Prime Time). Again, it's difficult to find here a real collaboration between the three musician and it seems that each, especially Mateen and Shurdut, are doing their own acts. It is great to hear Mateen's playing, but there is no real interaction between all three musicians. Don't expect any guitar pyrotechnics by Nix, who get lost mid-session.

The third "installation" features poet Steve Dalachinsky reading a beautiful dedication to Albert Ayler, "My Name Is," with delicate backing by McPhee and Shurdut. It's followed by a much too long solo guitar piece by Shurdut, "Another Fallen Angel," dedicated to Joe McPhee. Shurdut's playing is again a raw, nonlinear wall of noise and feedback improv. The third piece is a short duet between McPhee and Shurdut, followed by unaccompanied reading of another beautiful poem by Dalachinsky, "Pray For Me," which saves the day.

  The fourth disc features Mateen and another Test player, reedman Daniel Carter, and is the most satisfying, musically speaking. Carter is a great player and especially on a haunting flute and trumpet is in top form. Shurdut does not push himself to the front as on the other discs, and leaves most of the stage to Carter and occasional playing by Mateen. 

As Shurdut writes: "The closer you get to reality, the more abstract it becomes." Sometimes this close reality is reflected on these discs, but it must have been much closer during these performances, in his art studio, than it is on playback.