Tom Christensen: New York School

Christensen's seven compositions on New York School were inspired by painting and poetry from the '50s and '60s artistic movement of the same name, with special emphasis on improvisational poet Frank O'Hara. The liner notes leave out the actual source material, but it's really unnecessary to appreciate the music, which offers an extremely wide spectrum of instrumental color—especially on the front line, which is regularly intertwined during ensemble play.

All four musicians pay careful attention to dynamics and tone, crafting phrases as much based on shape as flow. The material spans from the energy-rich strains of "Guardians" (see the Pollock painting here) to the baroque lament of "Your Strange Son" and the relaxed, sunny stroll of "Asleep and Sleeping with Them." The lines often blur between composition and improvisation, but there's no stiffness anywhere, and it's definitely a group effort.

Some of the starkest and most penetrating moments come through on "In Memory of My Feelings," which pairs bass clarinets and soprano saxophone with deep, ringing, ritualistic percussion, communicating a sense of melancholy loss matched with a seemingly paradoxical feeling of rebirth.

One of the best records of 2005.

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