The venerable sax quartet PRISM, consisting of Timothy McAllister/ss, Zachary Shemon/as, Matthew Levy/ts and Taimur Sullivan/bs has melded jazz, classical and avant garde ideas for years, with this latest adventure bringing in some extra reed and rhythm guests for playing and composing.
Levy’s own “Forgidden Drive” adds tenor titan Joe Lovano for a gloriously textured “Forbidden Drive” with rich ensemble work, similar in kind to Gluzanov. A nine part “Improvisations” by Chris Potter mixes free improves by Potter on tenor and Ravi Coltrane switching between tenor and soprano for some and festive “Interludes” while playing peek-a-boo with the ensemble on “Improvisation 2”. Joe Lovano’s own seven part “Super Sonix” has him including various percussion instruments as well as alternating various saxophones, with the team sounding like Supersax on the bopping “Hipsters & Flipsters”, bluesy and kinetic on “Following the Sound” and gorgeously dramatic during “Sound Supture” and the dreamy “Wordless Stories”. “Tones For M” has composer Coltrane on sopranino alongside Potter on bass clarinet for an elegiac melding of tones and harmonies. You won’t get lost in the reeds on this one.