Soprano saxophonist Lol Coxhill and trombonist Paul Rutherford played in a variety of settings at the 2002 edition of Chicago�s Empty Bottle Festival; Emanem has already released some of this material on Rutherford�s Chicago 2002 and Coxhill�s Out to Launch. The day after that festival, they and bassist Torsten M�ller headed over to Milwaukee, Wisc., to play a gig at Woodland Pattern Book Center. The first, hour-long set was devoted to three extended solo performances by each of the musicians; the second, much shorter set consisted of two duets and a final trio performance. The time limitations of a single CD necessitated some editing, which is - as always - scrupulously acknowledged by Emanem�s Martin Davidson. The most significant change has been the omission of the first part of �Sax & Bone,� but it also sounds to me like there�s the odd nip and tuck�in �Woodland Bone Patterns,� the 22-minute Rutherford improvisation that opens the disc.

Rutherford�s soliloquy proceeds at a virtually even pace (though every so often he pauses to squeeze or deflate a note) and at a volume level close to the speaking voice. It�s a performance that shows little concern for erecting grand architectural structures; instead, it develops according to the meandering, point-to-point movement of conversation, except that here - unlike in most conversations - every phrase is made to count. Coxhill takes his solo piece at a similarly unhurried pace, though his characteristic reeling delivery makes this an altogether more visceral, sardonic and abrasive performance. It begins with twittering birdsong, but Coxhill�s habitual indecorousness quickly asserts itself: he clucks and jeers over the piece�s 15 minutes like a barnyard fowl in a huff. M�ller, a new name to me, turns in a quirky solo performance: he seems to spend the 14 minutes of the piece giving his bass an increasingly elaborate massage. The piece stands up just fine beside the work of the two veterans.

I won�t dissect the two (really, one-and-a-half) duets or the final trio piece in detail. Cooler and lighter in texture than the solo pieces, more quick-moving and various, these are more immediately enjoyable and accessible performances. �All Three,� the disc�s graceful coda, is quite possibly its best track. It�s a pity that there isn�t more ensemble work on the disc, but what�s here is well worth hearing.