Bennink is often called the Clown Prince of Percussion, as this dadaesque but extremely musical aspect of him often arises before an audience. Pianist Nabatov has been supported by a series of more-than-fine recordings on Tutu and Leo. This duet disc opens with Bennink playing a clever solo using brushes, traps,and goodness knows what else, and after playing inside the piano, Nabatov strolls in using a casually cocky semi-stride, recalling the opening of Beaver Harris' joyous album From Rag Time To No Time. There's a quite beautiful ballad for Paul Bley called "Unperturbed." "es lauft!" rags a Monk-like tune. (By all means try to find the Mengelberg-Lacy-George Lewis-Bennink 1984 tribute to Herbie Nichols, Change of Season, on Soul Note.) These eleven tracks recorded in Koln in 2001 each display the wit, style and sheer musicality both these masters are known for, and here, Bennink listens to his partner as closely as Nabatov always does. (On occasion live, but not on this disc, Bennink is so caught up in the exuberance of his musical schtick, and one can't blame him, he temporarily loses sight of his collaborators.) Because this performance isn't anything more or less than two peers dancing, it succeeds brilliantly and should appeal far beyond their usual audiences. Total joy, with depth to boot. Perceptive notes by Kevin Whitehead, which confirm my feeling about how Bennink and Nabatov interact.

DAMIAN CATERA. Process, Object Intuition: 5 Pieces for Guitar. Harsh House HH010, 53:46, harshhouse.com

I had the pleasure of hearing Catera a few years back at the Knitting Factory when he was going to play with K. K. Null, who had immigration problems. I missed KK, sadly, but Catera made up for it with his own brand of music. Catera, in the notes, call these "five pieces for guitar and machine improvisation... to create textured, evolving soundscapes... and to abuse technology and sound."

"Race Point Light" is played with a screwdriver as bow, and "algorithmic accompaniment," using random probability MAX programs. The resultant whoosh and roar, however, sounds happily analog. "ILAL" uses a cigarette lighter as... and so on. "symbol" is inspired by Xenakis, for two guitars and "had nothing to do with computers and everything to do with... geometric structures." I donít know if this means the programs were not used here, but the piece is mostly reminiscent of Xenakis' long ur-noise piece "Bohor II."

BETH CUSTER. Viniculum Symphony Live. Beth Custer Music BC3, 45:37, bethcuster.com

A toy-like symphony-suite, with small gestures, much xylophone, bent notes, whistling and gagaku-like only in its forwardly-moving gestural momentum. If Carla Bley's Big Band used arabesque violin and rhythms, spare spoken word, more flute, and the same great trumpet and horn sounds, it might be this. Most of it uses improvisation within the structure, and the two songs in it fit as part of the whole. The finale becomes anthemic with female vocalists wailing a la "Dark Side of The Moon" with New Orleans horns. The performance is credited to the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Bay Area Improvisers, and the Experimental Instrument Builders, the most famous of whom are Brenda Hutchinson and Tom Nunn. Very much recommended, as is her Dona Luz 30 Besos, a more recent release on City of Tribes.

PEE WEE ELLIS & THE NDR BIG BAND. What You Like. Minor Music CD MM 801064, 58:06, allegro-music.com

North German Radio's big band, for those unfamiliar, is an organization to contend with. They can and do play anything and they play hot. Ellis is most, and deservedly, famous from his multi-decade tenure (is that an oxymoron?) with the James Brown organization, with Brown himself from 1966-1969, then in the 1980s with the JB Allstars and the JB Horns.

I didn't know that Ellis was bandleader and arranger (with Mark Isham) of Van Morrison's superb 1979 Into The Music (an understandable mixup has this album listed as Into The Mystic, a tune from Moondance album), the simply beautiful and touching Common One, the mixed Beautiful Vision and Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart, which are alternately some of the most striking or most most vapidly New-Agey of Morrison's output (has no one else pointed out that "Scandinavia" is a complete steal of the Stones' "Moonlight Mile"?)

Morrison returns the favor here, appearing on his own exciting blues, "I Will Be There," but the passion is slight compared to Morrison's own on the indispensable concert compilation It's Too Late To Stop Now. JB trombonist Fred Wesley (of the Horny Horns) appears on "Tune With a View," a nice chunk of southern fried funk mixed with the (br)ease of the Tijuana Brass.

As one who sadly finds Fred Wesley's post-Brown discs as leader formulaic (hardly an insult with music in this genre) but played with form rather than style and bravura, I have mixed reaction to this Ellis disc. (The booklet lists five previous Minor Music releases.) It's hard to make an orchestra as crack-tight as all of JB's bands have been, and if it might please you to hear tracks here are as enjoyable as those of, say, later Booker T and the MGs, with interesting fillips in the orchestration, this is a fine release. "Far From Home" is a fine Ellis-penned blues with his sax doing both gutbucket and multiphonics.

Singer Jenni Evans has nothing to be ashamed of on Al Green's "Take Me To the River," nor can the band claim to have made this song their own as have Syl Johnson or the Talking Heads. Ellis himself arranged this track. She reappears on the delightful "Step," a sexual but not vulgar rap over a fun- not hip hop- electric piano riff circa late '60s Atlantic Records. This could easily become a deserved radio hit.

The verdict: tuffer than jazz lite, but mostly missing grits and jowls. If you feel ants in your pants and you want to dance (one of Brown's titles), look elsewhere. For a smooth ride, hop on.

FLUTOLOGY. First Date. Capri 74060-2, 52:23, caprirecords.com

This is a totally enjoyable date with a trio of flutists with the master rhythm section of pianist Mike Wofford, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Ben Riley. I wasn't sure what to expect since Frank Wess has been blowing wonderful flute since the forties, I didn't know Holly Hofman, and the one disc I'd heard of Ali Ryerson's on Red Baron left me cold.

Barely noticeable is the SACD mark on the box and label, and it must be hybrid, since my CAL player handled it with no problems. The HDCD light flashed on, but there is no mention of HDCD processing anywhere.

GANELIN TRIO. 15 Year Reunion: Live at The Frankfurt Book Fair. Leo CD LR 375, 40:01, leorecords.com

After a decade and a half on not performing live, this famed- notorious, even- trio rooted in the Soviet Union (their first recordings were smuggled out and pressed in the UK by Leo Feigin) reunited October 8, 2002 in Germany. The Book Fair was dedicated to Lithuania, which I hadn't realized was the origin of the trio. About 150 people were expected to turn up, but over 600 did, from all over the world. Slava Ganelin opens with an orchestral synth, which rapidly fades to comrades Vladimirs Chekasin (reeds) and Tarasov (percussion) doing a rather structured free improv, which transforms from free to ballads to sections with the kitchen sink including vocals. There are whiffs of French chamber music in the air, but Ganelin's piano anchors all in terra firma. The label apologizes for the poor sound recorded in a live space, which is why Leo didn't ask them to play longer; he thought the tapes were unusable and that the audience only heard murk, but it's not bad at all, and this audience (and me, in my home) clearly enjoyed this music which starts on improv turf and incorporates east Euro and Asian sounds. Even the synth, which I have little patience for when used this way, is appropriate to the piece, and not overused. Not the first Ganelin to acquire, perhaps (try Poco a Poco or San Francisco Holidays on which they sometime perform with ROVA), but it's a more than worthy addition for fans. For those who like such things, I again highly recommend Slava's CD duet with vocalist Esti Kenan Ofri on this year's Birds of Passage, all these discs also on Leo.

JOHNNY GRIFFIN AND HORACE PARLAN. Close Your Eyes: Johnny Griffin Meets Horace Parlan. Minor Music 801085, 59:15, allegro-music.com

It's good to see Stephan Meyner's label back in the States. I thought it had died out totally. Johnny Griffin, perhaps best known for his duo-sax blowing duets with Eddie Lockjaw Davis, reappears with pianist Horace Parlan. The most striking thing about this set is the sound. Recorded in rich direct-to-analog in 2000, the tone of Griffin' horn is palpable, Parlan' piano father off left. Fans of either will enjoy this set, but, strangely, both players often appear to be straining, especially when playing slowly, as in "My One and Only Love". Some listeners may prefer this now-and-again ascerbity. One can't deny there is a connection between these two and their ideas are good, if often strained for. Comparing this version of Monkís "Pannonica" with Parlan's 1981 trio with Alvin Queen and Reggie Johnson (Enja 4076) finds the pianist more frisky and willing to take risks and a fine solo with Griffin. An enjoyable disc, with the caveats already noted. I'm curious to hear the Minor Music CD of Parlan with Pee Wee Ellis shown in the booklet. Also, dig and dig up Griffin's 1960 recording of spirituals and blues arranged by Norman Simmons on on The Big Soul Band, OJC 485.

TERJE ISUNGSET. Middle of Mist. NORCD 0348, 43:37, nordcd.no; isung.net

Part new age, part ancient age, part improv and part ambient noise. Isungset plays jaw harp, drums, ram's horn, stones, wood, waterphone, hose, percussion and voice to create these twelve soundscapes titled after the Norwegian soundscape. This is a musical midway between the early Jan Garbarek that used echo and aeolian harps with his eerie saxstreams, and the electronic "pre-Columbian" music of Jorge Reyes and Antonio Zepeda. It's recorded direct to digital two-track, with no "further" processing (I'm assuming from the type of resonances that the sound was processed during performance) at the Vigeland Museum and the Sofienberg Church, both in Oslo. As sheer sound and texture, this is stunning. It should appeal to afficionados of environmental recordings, processed and not.

"JAZZELICIOUS PRESENTS." Kriztal Entertainment KRI-CD-3016, 57:10, kriztal.com

This multistylistic groove compilation is a surprisably danceable collection of twelve tracks in the "file under: electronica/ chillout" genre. Any audible jazz elements, save the five opening bass notes, are "jazz" only in the sense that "jazz dance" and Bob Fosse have anything to do with jazz. Usually, these vapid, spacey grooves groove into space, but don't work on the dance floor. These grooves actually do groove, with Brazilian or proto-disco beats. This will appeal to those who enjoy our decade's version of Space Age Bachelor Pad Music. The moderne droogie can crash here.

DARRELL KATZ. The Death of Simone Weill. Innova 582, 72:02, composersforum.org

This is a six-part jazz suite with text by Katz' wife Paula Tatarunis and well sung by Rebecca Shrimpton. Katz founded Bostonís Jazz Composers Alliance and Orchestra (JCA). I'm fascinated by this piece, as the writing and orchestration of this large ensemble is varied, fluid and utterly musical. Katz' deft manipulation of his ensemble is a treat. One hears not only all the usual sounds of a Monday Night big band, but the work is replete with wonderful dissonances and unusual but intuitively right instrumental combinations. Katz is an exemplary orchestrator. The text serves its subject well, a paean to the French philosopher who contained floods of contradictions while drowning in the seas of the second World War, and now I feel myself drawn to read more of and about her, also to find more of Tatarunis' poetry. My only hesitation for an unqualified recommendation is that the music doesn't always serve the text; as music qua music there are no complaints, ditto the lyrics. The disc concludes with Katz' setting of a Sherwood Anderson text from Winesburg, Ohio, called "Like A Wind," which makes a strikingly beautiful seven-minute ballad, with notable guitar work from Norm Zacher, who also stands out in the main work. "Like A Wind" is a natural to be taken up by other jazz or classical singers. If any of this sounds intriguing, trust your instincts and purchase The Death of Simone Weill. Kudos to the Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra.

STEVE KLINK TRIO. Feels Like Home: 14 Songs by Randy Newman. Minor Music CD MM 801092, 62:46, allegro-music.com

Jazz from Slovenia: I wonder what Randy Newman would make of that. Actually, Randy Newman is an American treasure, and pianist Klink's are some of the most intelligent liner notes I've ever read about the music he's playing, what he's doing with it, and why Newman is significant. Klink's premise on this disc, the title cleverly alluding to one of Newman's earliest albums, is that while Newman's own songwriting is as condensed as possible, rarely over four minutes, often much shorter, there are riffs purely musical which attract this pianist and inspired him to do instrumental takes able to expand on the purely musical, rather than lyrical, aspects of these works.

Randy Newman is a Jewish composer from New Orleans with a wry sense of humor deprecating, illuminating and ultimately loving the world we're in. As Klink points out, he and his subject matter are as American as John Steinbeck, yet not nationalistic. On the musical aspect, this is an enjoyable album of mainstream, sometimes Ramsey Lewis-like jazz. My intention, as this disc is most enjoyable, and I do own all of Newman's records, yet some of these songs I am unfamiliar with by name, I intend to legally burn myself a copy for private consumption of these tracks side by side with the originals. Marcus Rieck on drums, Dietmar Fuhr the bassist. After the first ten cuts, Mia Znidaric sings a pair of songs with Klink, followed by a pair of duets of piano with guitarist Alex Olivari. Their "Louisiana 1923" is especially powerful.

GAEL MEVEL TRIO. Danses Paralleles. Leo CD LR 376, 51:16, leorecords.com

This followup to last year's fine La Promessse du Chant (Leo 351), pianist Gael Mevel retains bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel, well-known from his work with Steve Lacy, and drummer Thierry Waziniak. The offerings are nine waltzes, each slow and thoughtful but taken with deep intensity. The rhythm fades in and out, as this is deep improv, without timekeeping. This trio's phrasing makes you lean in and hold your breath, spellbound. Too easy to overlook, take time to note the title and know this will sustain your attention over many years. The cover photo, black and white, shows the threesome preparing a meal in a (French?) kitchen, with a donkey peering in through the opened door.

BILL MAYS TRIO. Going Home. Palmetto PM 2090, 62:20, palmetto-records.com

I've long been a fan of Mays from his CD pair of rich, red-blooded duets with bassist Ray Drummond. His Maybeck recital is also one of my favorites of the long-lived but lamented series from Concord. One record guide has tagged Mays as being precious, but I'll quash that, unless precious means not needing to bang to get your point across. Whether ballad or uptempo, his fingerwork is delicate- scratch that: he's precise- without being slight. The opening original, "Judy," teases with delicious fragments, half vamp, with a slowly coalescing melody. In the title track, composition credits given to Antonin Dvorak from his 9th symphony, there are delightful brushes with a vinegary atonality. With the rhythm section of bassist Martin Wind and the always tasty Matt Wilson on drums, Mays does stands out, but it never feels like a star turn; this is a unit supporting the pianist in the most integral way and with integrity. I keep wanting to watch his fingers move; howzabout a DVD next, Palmetto? The recording is "dedicated to the memory of Shelly Manne, Red Mitchell & Jimmy Rowles (they've all 'gone home.')" The closer, the only vocal, is Red Mitchell's "I'm A Homebody." Although adorable, the mood change is disconcerting; it fits thematically but not musically (New Orleansy piano and a rock beat) with the rest of the album. Better would have been a minute of silence and then this as a hidden track. Nonetheless, highly recommended.

HILTON RUIZ. Enchantment. Arabesque AJ0157, 56:27, arabesquerecords.com

Pianist Ruiz is another of those musicians who is very exciting in performance, but on disc proves constant and reliable. This set opens with Victor Feldman/Miles Davis' "Seven Steps To Heaven," but Ruiz dances so fancily that each step tingles with taps. The majority of the work here is bop-based, sometimes with a Latin-tinge, sometimes referring to Art Tatum. Chico Freeman guests on a few tracks, but you'd easily mistake his playing for papa Von Freeman. An original, "Shades of Thelonious," opens with a few bars of refracted Monk, then turns Monky-bop. Non-originals include Rahsaan Roland Kirk's "The Business Ain't Nothing But The Blues," and Strayhorn's "Little Black Book" Ruiz' own "Silhouette," a solo, is quite beautiful. The piano, this set recorded and mastered at Loho Studios by Lou Holtzman, sounds a bit brittle. Another original, "Home Cookin'," is fun, and the Roland Kirk closer proves Ruiz lets loose in blues form, as does Freeman. In the notes, Ruiz claims he wanted to avoid anything complicated. "I wanted it to be straightforward and honest." Mission accomplished, with the help of bassist Lisle Atkinson and percussionists Marlon Simon and Renato Thomas.

ARCHIE SHEPP. I Know About The Life. hatOLOGY 598, 43:00, cadencebuilding.com

This is a reissue of the 1981 Sackville CD 3026 of three jazz standards plus the saxophonist's title composition, remastered by the consistently excellent Peter Pfister. Although Shepp is slightly upfront in the mix, every tone and color of his horn is revealed. His tone is often ascerbic, multiphonic, all by plan. Honking, melodic, squawking, phrasing like but not imitating the human voice singing and talking. This disc stands on the shoulders of many another masterful Shepp outing. Ken Werner's piano doesn't imitate Monk's own playing, yet embodies his spirit on "Well You Needn't" as he well proves he needn't, as Shepp plays tones that are continually surprising, yet "right on time." Santi (misspelled Santie on the jacket) Debriano and John Betsch are the always formidable rhythm. On a fierce and fast "Giant Steps," drummer Betsch, who can be extremely subtle, here lets out an appropriately busy solo which turns into a duo with Shepp refracting fragments of the melody. "Round Midnight" is delightfully woozy; at least the sax is, as the others amble ably, Debriano's bass is able to walk near strutting proudly as Betsch stabilizes the journey forward, piano conversing with all all the while. Informative liner notes about this disc in the context of Shepp's career by Bill Shoemaker: "Fire Music had not softened into Tenure Music."