Description
Much of the credit is due to Joe McPhee’s exquisite sense of melody: even when intense, he infuses every note with thoughtful control. The results reflect the group’s natural reticence and attraction to nuance, something that is especially evident on “Journey.” Overall, though, this is not music for the fainthearted, as delicacy is juxtaposed with aggressive expression. On “Albert’s Alto,” for example, the ghost of Albert Ayler is resurrected but never cloned, and his spirit absorbed and reincarnated. The closing “Amazing Grace,” in memory of Dominic Duval’s late wife, is perhaps the highlight of the album, a lovely, even exquisitely executed reflection of deeply held sentiments. – Steve Loewy, AllMusic