The genius behind British electronica duo Spring Heel Jack's collaborations with free improv players (a disc with John Surman on Thirsty Ear followed by two star-studded records on Thirsty Ear's Blue Series) is that they let the acoustic instruments anchor the sets. The whooshes and beats are present but don't dominate. Likewise, Blue Series director Matthew Shipp's work with beatician FLAM, although less successful, still results in jazz records.

The GoodandEvil Sessions, the next in the label's electroacoustic jazz experiments, pits a pair of editor/manipulators - Miso and GoodandEvil himself - against another posse of downtown players, this time Roy Campbell, Alex Lodico, Josh Roseman, William Parker and Shipp (heard here on Korg synthesizer exclusively), to less exciting results.

The difference, arguably the problem, is that the jazzmen are merely used, confined to small spaces and not allowed to run free. The beats and grooves guide the disc, leaving acoustic sections as mere filigree, much like the way acid jazz djs would drop Blue Note or Impulse licks as artifacts, eclipsing the freedom and soulfulness of the source material.

So GoodandEvil is not a jazz record. It's not a bad record, either, and nobody said you have to play jazz when you play with jazz players. It's an enjoyable record. It's got a good beat and you can dance to it. Well, sort of, anyway. The beats are on the slow side and the tracks don't especially come off as cutting edge, or even all that current. Spy music, soul and lounge themes recur, all so '90s but still well done. Nice solos from Campbell and Parker escape in spots, and for those who don't decry Shipp's synth work (this reporter included), his playing works well as a no-fire zone between the two camps.

Unfortunately, the only new sounds come in the closing minutes of "Sweetbitter," the album's closing track. The rest just makes for a pleasant compromise during after-dinner drinks.