Smoker-Magnuson-Filiano-Grassi

Smoker-Magnuson-Filiano-Grassi: Large Music 2

by Derek Taylor
June 1, 2001

Picking up where its companion volume (Large Music 1) left off this second compendium of music by a formidable free-bop quartet of CIMP regulars is on par with its predecessor. Magnuson and Smoker share the principal song-crafting duties with a piece by Filiano and a surprisingly restrained collective improvisation (“Barefoot and the Bassist”) rounding out the fully fleshed program. Opening with the Ornette-influenced “Gwendolyn the Cat” the four players cycle through an obstacle course of sliding tempos pausing along the ...