Improvisation can sometimes be about a group finding its unique voice in the moment of instant composition; in other cases it can be more about loosely flirting with familiar styles and approaches to improvising (and yes, even emulation of the luminaries of free playing is clearly possible). And like the title track itself of "Red Feast," notable portions of the CD have a certain familiarity, despite its clearly being a fairly loose, open-ended outing. Not to imply, however, that this grouping breaks no new musical ground. In fact, the album features enough unique moments to raise hopes that the foursome will meet again on disk.



The opening track, "Escape from the hell realms," one of the most stylistically piebald on the album, suggests that the quartet would fit nicely on a bill at, say, Chicago's Empty Bottle along with one of Ken Vandermark's groups. It starts with some split tone hunting calls on the tenor sax that suggest a foray into non-rhythmic Evan Parker territory. And while Ayler's presence is felt throughout this track, drummer Mike Pride and bassist Ken Filiano eventually steer the band toward a friendlier freebop lope. The eclectic influences of new music in Chicago seemed to be echoed here.



Nels Cline's guitar work stands out on "Blue Tara." The Wilco guitarist explores his effects processors tastefully, providing a kernel of unpredictability that seeds fractals of interaction among the other players. Despite some pseudo-idiomatic interludes, the track features the group truly listening and inventing often enough to make it the best on the CD. But Cline, too, is amenable more staid guitar-isms (relative to outside playing, that is). His style certainly fits in when the rhythm gets jazzier, and he gravitates toward a clean tone and angular melodies reminiscent of Joe Morris. But overall his palette of sounds and styles is complex, as aided by effects processing.

In fact, the group's uniqueness often shines during interactions between Cline and Filiano (the go-to bass guy for saxophonists Vinnie Golia and Steve Adams) when the latter also uses effects processing of his bass. On the first few minutes of "Charnel Ground," Cline alternates between Frith-like abstract collages and sustained chord shards as a counterpart to Filiano's frantic sermonizing.



Stephan Gauci's relatively standard saxophone tone seems slightly out of place during a couple of the more open improv sections of the CD, when other members use extended techniques. But Gauci seems at home enough in this loose environment to contribute sensibly to the overall vibe. However, a somewhat telling moment occurs about two-thirds of the way through "Charnel Ground:" drummer Mike Pride seemingly grows tired of the free playing and launches into a swinging beat, and Gauci takes the bait and launches fully into freebop saxophone lines. His audible sense of comfort at this point suggests that it was something of a relief for him to exercise his more idiomatic muscles, albeit briefly (as does Bob Rusch's note of apparent caution in the liner notes: "this music is less structured overall than on [Gauci's] other recordings"). The aforementioned "Red Feast," evoking ballad jazz with its brushed drums pacing, and the closing track also appear to tread comfortable ground for Gauci.