A contemporary take with heightened energy and engagement on those defining early AACM albums where extemporised timbral interaction was paramount, is this eponymously-titled disc. Chicago-based Double Helix quartet's collective improvisations recorded live, blend the textures of Avreeayl Ra's wood flute and idiophones with varied thrusts from Ishmael Ali's cello plus alto saxophonist Fred Jackson Jr.'s and drummer Bill Harris' cadenced extrapolations.

Veteran AACM members Ra and Jackson have worked with everyone from Nicole Mitchell and Malachi Thompson to Mwata Bolden and Ed Wilkerson. Ali is part of Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble while Harris has played with the likes of Angel Bat Dawid and Jeb Bishop.

Moving on from the thin textures of Avreeayl Ra's wood flute and idiophone rattle, in the introduction, by "Inner Dialog", the second track, all four are fully engaged as cello plucks and doubled drum whumps set the stage for Jackson's heavily vibrated bites and squeals which supplely open up the exposition. Relevant and resilient pressures intensify throughout the following sets as the saxophonist's strident tones interact with Ali's string strategy that encompasses swift arco slices as well as thickened double bass-like strops. Note-bending reed breaths balance on top of percussion crunches and kettle drum like echoes that also mesh with spiccato string stops.

Finally the extended climax drawing in "Mind Clutter" and the subsequent "Questions Without Answers" has the narratives seesawing with sustained stress to higher and lower pitches. Fragmented reed smears, double tonguing and swelling repeated drones that seem almost opaque come up against string power strums, percussion rebound and rim shots. Without neglecting the tension that permeates the entire narrative, the final track settles into distinct equanimity as saxophone sequences produce aviary-like trills and string slides become more lyrical, leading to an ending that's refined as well as resolute.

A notable successor to earlier AACM archetypes, Double Helix proves that the creation of memorable sounds is still a flourishing avocation in Chicago.