It's hard to know what to make of a release such as Spontaneous Suites for Two Pianos. It's not a question of quality but quantity. The quality is there and perhaps not even a question given the artists involved. The question is: When do we want 220 minutes of a single serving of improvisation?

It's a bold release to be sure, and a worthy one for pianist Connie Crothers. Despite a close association with Lennie Tristano (who died in 1978) and a 1982 duo record with Max Roach, the pianist is only recently coming to the attention she deserves. She's a spirited jazz pianist and a graceful abstract improviser as well, a strong soloist and a thoughtful accompanist.

Her duet partner here is David Arner. Known primarily as a soloist, Arner brings a well-tooled skill set to the meeting with Crothers. He has worked with Pauline Oliveros and with dance companies as well as accompanying silent films, and is a percussionist as well as a pianist. He has also worked in numerous jazz settings so there's plenty of common ground for the two to explore. Over nine suites and two shorter pieces, the pair touches on serene Debussy-esque inventions and gently bouncing romps, never flying full throttle and never falling to the expectations of melodic discourse. There's an easy momentum to the session — recorded live without an audience on a single day at Bard College — which leads one disc to the next. The four discs come in paper sleeves housed in a sturdy box allowing for a modest price point, but the question remains: How much does a person need? To that, there's no real answer. The mind just doesn't learn long form improvisation the same way it does a song by Brian Wilson or the Gershwin brothers, so there's an awful lot to absorb before repeat listens become repetitious. Ultimately, the answer to "why?" here is "why not?" The music doesn't stop being good and the players are worth it. The French label RogueArt has done a good job of standing out in the sea of CD releases, and perhaps giving them such treatment will gain them some well-deserved notice. Those who pay attention won't be disappointed.