Skronktet West, The

EL

Label: Spool Country: Canada

"Rosenberg's compositions are as thorny and challenging as their titles ("Shrrr", "Sdppd", "Sttm"...) - his scores leave much room for improvisation, but also present fiendish problems of ensemble coordination, which are brilliantly handled by the Skronktet West. It's nothing less than a supergroup of sorts - in addition to Rosenberg's saxophones and contrabass clarinet, the quintet includes clarinet virtuoso Matt Ingalls, guitarist John Shiurba, bassist Morgan Guberman, and, driving the machine along with consummate finesse, Gino Robair on percussion. If you leave your brain outside and expect yet another helping of run of the mill improv fizzes and wheezes, you're not going to get much out of this album; if however, you care to listen - with an emphasis on care - you'll find it one of the richest and most satisfying releases of the year." Dan Warburton, Paris Transatlantic Magazine