“This is certainly a recommended album for anyone who harbors a penchant for the more abstract jazz forms. Drummer Paul Motian leads a trio—Larry Grenadier (bass) and Chris Potter (tenor sax)—and augments his threesome with pianist Masabumi Kikuchi, alto sax man Greg Osby and viola player Max Manieri. The seven tracks include five original pieces, though the two covers, “Till We Meet Again” and “If You Could See Me Now,” are so thoroughly reinterpreted that they may as well be originals too. Osby and Potter embark on an extended flight of free-form fancy on these tracks, as we hear quite vividly on “The Third Walk.” The vitality of the improvisational impulse that rules this disc is most compelling on the tune “The Divider,” a striking ensemble performance that’s equal parts discipline and spontaneity. —Philip Van Vleck”
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