The Vinny Golia Quintet: One, Three, Two

But, based on the music documented in the live, two-and-a-half hour One, Three, Two, it's clear that the quintet not only transcended the devastating events that had just taken place; it actually channelled the emotions of the moment into performances that truly demonstrated the power of freedom.

That Golia considers the quintet "...a comfortable platform to explore composition, improvisation and orchestration is testament to the broad range of colours that everyone in the ensemble is capable of—with Golia himself utilizing an array of flutes, saxophones, clarinet, and ocarina. Michael Pierre Vlatkovich, with a number of different mutes, coaxes a surprising wealth of textures and emotion from his trombone, from the oblique to the playful. Nels Cline combines the sonic coloration of a rock guitarist with a staggering wealth of musical knowledge—coalescing his diverse interests into a style that remains one of the most distinctive on any scene. Alex Cline, while limiting himself to a traditional drum kit this time around, exhibits the same almost limitless perspective, capable of dissolving into a maelstrom of chaos one moment and swinging hard the next. Bassist Scott Walton, the most recent recruit at five years, is equally adept at following Golia's sometimes idiosyncratic thematic constructs as he is locking into a barrelhouse groove like the one on "The Happy.

But it's the kind of empathy that pervades these two sets that make them so special. Golia may have roots in world music and contemporary classical composition, and there is evidence of both concerns here, but this set is unabashedly jazz, with the group as disposed to swinging hard as it is exploring more challenging flights of free improvisation. The quintet seems to move effortlessly from intense interplay to more defined structure. That Golia has worked with the Cline brothers since the '70s is especially evident in the way that they seem so deeply attuned to the slightest cue and the most subtle nuance. And while the Clines may be the longest-standing members of Golia's Quintet, everyone is equally in sync.

Sometimes intense and serious, other times lithe and humorous, One, Three, Two is always imaginative, adventurous, and gripping. From a quintet that truly defines modern improvised jazz at its best, two sets of music that show how the worst possible events can stimulate passionate, meaningful responses.

Visit Vinny Golia, Nels Cline and Alex Cline on the web.