Saxophonist Peter Epstein is nothing if not distinctive; his thoughtful, unmistakable playing has been a highlight of recordings by Michael Cain, Jerry Granelli, and many others. Staring at the Sun finds him taking the plunge as a leader on a session of tentative but beautiful exploration. Epstein has assembled a quartet of alarming sensitivity, able to provide his experiential pieces with the delicate touch they deserve. The tonal blend of Jamie Saft's accordion with the leader's saxophone is astonishing, and Saft displays a remarkable fluency on this sadly underused instrument, from spinning curious melodic lines to coaxing forth ominous tone clusters. Bassist Chris Dahlgren is solid but never overpowering and uses his prodigious arco technique to great advantage (also, his composition Per is among the album's highlights). Ubiquitous drummer Jim Black's role runs the gamut, from laying down odd-meter grooves of daunting complexity to providing gentle ambient coloration. In Your Voice, the album's opener, is stunning; Dahlgren begins with a descending figure alternating in meter between six and seven while Black dances around him -- Epstein and Saft enter with a poignant melody that leads the band into a territory of airy abstraction. Cumulus finds its seed in several simple tones that the band slowly builds upon to a triumphant climax, while Dahgren's Per is a starkly beautiful composition for bowed bass and saxophone with accordion droning quietly in the background. MA is known for meticulous attention to audio, and the label complements the album wonderfully, leaving no subtle touches unheard. And listeners should not want to miss a single one on this astonishing debut. ~ Tom Benton, Rovi

1		In Your Voice
2		No Step
3		April 1st
4		Feast and Famine
5		Kinder
6		Crowd Theory
7		Fetish
8		Per
9		Cumulus
10		Chicken Dumbo

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