Drummer George Schuller's fertile imagination, deep love of, and respect for jazz musicians of previous eras has led him to this tribute to the so-called American quartet of Keith Jarrett from the mid-'70s with this extraordinary unit Circle Wide. The Jarrett combo, with Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, Paul Motian (and at times with Brazilian percussionists Guilherme Franco or Airto Moreira) made startlingly fresh post-bop music molded in the approximate notated visage of Ornette Coleman, but retaining a remarkable singsong tuneful quality that was at once challenging and accessible. Schuller has expanded the horizons of that band's instrumentation by adding a guitarist and vibraphonist -- the excellent Brad Shepik and tasteful Tom Beckham. Tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin handles the role of Redman admirably, David Ambrosio takes cues from Haden but remains true to himself, and the addition of percussionist Jamey Haddad adds an exotic element to five tracks. Schuller's reverence for Motian's spare, tasteful, dynamic drumming is naturally rendered in what he has done naturally for years. As a writer, he has reinvented and reinterpreted his composition Dew Point in tribute to Redman, with a rumbling drum sound setting off the sax, guitar and vibes in a choral-like refrain. McCaslin's playful sound is like a scurrying whimsical mouse, and keeps that notion going during Schuller's other original Back to School as diffuse phrases are slowed and sped at will, very much like Coleman, and infused with gospel or church motifs. The band extrapolates on five of Jarrett's pieces, including the ambitious two-part Survivor's Suite, with McCaslin's flute and Shepik's mysterious, legato, chiming Middle Eastern electric guitar under a languid and solemn base, while Beckham's reverential vibes on the second section leads to McCaslin's tenor and Shepik's yearning yet hopeful outcries. De Drums is a logical selection for Motian maven Schuller, combining Haddad's frame drums, a Hawaiian sounding guitar from Shepik, Native American rhythms, a one-note ostinato bass, and a very patient development in a slow beat. Common Mama approaches minimalist gamelan and African music courtesy of Haddad and Schuller, Rotation is the hard rock bopper of the set as Ambrosio and the leader have the Haden-Motian style down pat, while Encore, B is an interesting selection, a standalone segment extracted from the live recording of the Jarrett quartet Eyes of the Heart" -- a hard bop juxtaposition of melody and harmony à la Coleman with McCaslin on soprano sax. This is one of the more delightful recordings of modern jazz made in the 2000's, a definite candidate for Best Jazz CD of 2008, and a high-water mark in Schuller's substantial career. It also is a marvelous tribute to Jarrett's thoroughly modern jazz band that ranks up there with the famous small ensembles of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and especially Ornette Coleman. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi

1		Dew Point
2		Common Mama
3		Survivors' Suite, Pt. 1
4		Survivors' Suite, Pt. 2
5		Rotation
6		De Drums
7		Back to School
8		Encore, B

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