"Vancouver pianist Paul Plimley and his comrades, bassist Lisle Ellis and drummer Scott Amendola, have issued a tough little gem of a recording in Safe-Crackers. Plimley's pianism ranges in voice from fierce avant-garde improvisation to...

Led by bassist Lisle Ellis with a fierce San Francisco contingent, this 1993 studio session brings together saxophonists Christopher Cauley, Joe McPhee, Glenn Spearman, and Larry Ochs with guitarist James Ruthier and drummer Donald Robinson, delivering energetic free jazz rooted in the 1960s tradition but propelled by raw interplay, bold horn lines, and committed group momentum.

Recorded in Montreal in 1992, pianist Paul Plimley, bassist Lisle Ellis, and drummer-vibraphonist Gregg Bendian shape a dark-hued free jazz session with strong compositional ideas, shifting between shadowy swing, turbulent energy, and adventurous textures, while Bruce FreedmanÕs sax adds sharp focus on select tracks.