Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky / Michael Greiner

The sax/clarinet/flute/drum duet of Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky and Michael Greiner expand less on the transcendent flip-outs of free jazz than on the juxtaposition of a melodic jazz approach with a distinctly European drum approach. Petrowsky rarely leaves the harmonic/melodic fold, with his precise and thoughtful approach to phrasing and response. This is not to say that he doesn’t play with fire and passion, as he definitely does, but his approach is more about thinking than feeling. Greiner’s drumming, with its precision and wide range of approaches, dances and comments constantly on the moment. Lovens spars with Oxley, with a little Rashied thrown in for good measure. While the approach tends to homogenize after a while, there are more than enough moments of inspiration to qualify this as a work of note.