Quinsin Nachoff

What separates saxophonist/composer Quinsin Nachoff is his intense drive to explore a number of musical pathways — too many, in fact, to be grouped tidily on a single CD. A fiery jazz and free improv reed player, on Horizons Ensemble, he takes a decidedly more pensive approach. This disc is essentially chamber music — two violins, cello, piano, tenor/soprano sax — composed to allow the leader, pianist John Taylor and cellist Ernst Reijseger room to blow. Generally things remain downtempo, except for the final of six tracks, the rambunctious "African Skies," with its loping, tango-ish undercurrent and stunning Reijseger solo. The writing is lyrical, warm and evocative, but working in a somewhat narrow range of tempos and dynamics. Nachoff has exquisite timbral control, sounding at times like an English horn, a bassoon or a trumpet, as in the opening of "Glacial Lake," where he skates effortlessly on Taylor's crystalline chords. This is a strong, intelligent musical statement.