Joe McPhee / Eli Keszler - Ithaca FLAC

Recorded on november 2010, 'Ithaca' stands as one of the missing links between the tradition of free jazz and the current explorations in sound art. Bringing together one of the greatest living free jazz saxophonists and a young talented percussionist and sound sculptor, you have a record that sounds like a 'classic' and yet way ahead of its time. McPhee’s playing here is so lucid that it feels like a compendium of all those aspects of his style that have enlightened his long career, alternating beautiful soft passages to almost silent moments, or exploding into fuorious 'fire music'. On his part, Keszler gives plenty of room to spread out, whether playing minimal rhythmic patterns or creating sound structures that collapse when joe's saxophone goes wild. Silence, harmony and noise, perfectly balance each other on a work that is improvised avantgarde music in its purest form.