Craig Taborn

Avenging Angel ECM***

Craig Taborn’s taste for venturing where the thought police’s writ doesn’t run has led to a track record that includes free spirits such as Tim Berne, Mat Maneri, Evan Parker, Michael Formanek and David Torn. His interests include electronics experiments and heavy metal, in line with a fascination with sound that is one of the characteristics of this highly disciplined solo piano album.

Totally improvised, these performances are soundscapes of rhythmic and linear motifs, unexpected harmonic colours and imaginative counterpoint, meticulously explored and developed with clarity and control. They share, at their best, a rare balance of heart and mind. Among them are the drama and logic of Avenging Angel– a performance intoxicated with the possibilities of sound, the lyrical delicacy of True Life Nearand Forgetful, and the questing Gift Horse/Over The Water. See ecmrecords.com