Negative Press Project + Friction Quartet: Cycles 1

Cycles 1, the fifth recording by the San Francisco Bay-area Negative Press Project, is chamber jazz of the highest order, neatly canvassing a dozen creative and colorful themes by the group's co-leaders, pianist Ruthie Dineen (nine) and bassist Andrew Lion (three). The octet is ably supported on every number by the Friction Quartet, whose elegant strings lend an aura of courtliness without discord or intrusion.

The session is marked by a deep feeling of purpose, amplified by the composers' judicious use of improvisation and nuanced rhythmic choices. Lion's decorous opening theme, "Shoten Zenjin" (Morning Arrives for Aya), sets the mood with a sense of mystery, as strings, percussion and Dineen's piano pave the way for alto saxophonist Chris Sullivan's eloquent solo behind a gentle bossa-centered beat before Dineen re-enters the arena to ready the strings and ensemble for a placid coda.

Dineen composed the next two numbers, "Aelorean" and "Cycles Brilliant." The first is a cerebral meditation, she writes, "on time, the future and now." The second is a slow-paced sectional piece whose shifting rhythms again reflect her view of the confounding nature of time. Tenor saxophonist Tony Peebles solos on "Aelorean," Lion, Peebles, guitarist Luis Salcedo and soprano Lyle Link on "Cycles." Lion's second composition, "Waltz in Progress," opens quietly with strings and piano front and center before the ensemble leads the piece into a slow waltz enriched by Peebles' expressive tenor sax, Rafa Postel's luminous trumpet, a refreshing change of pace and splendid work by the ensemble, underlined by Salcedo's lucent guitar and drummer Isaac Schwartz's forceful timekeeping.

"Be," Dineen's handsome through-composed theme, precedes Lion's third and last entry, the melodious and charming "Libre," on which he and Dineen share solo honors. The string section's brief "Prelude" precedes Dineen's delicate "Hold and Keep This Flower," (a lyrical showpiece for the sax section and soprano Link). "Miles to Go." Dineen's "Waters" is sublime, as are her solo and that of soprano Link. The last of Dineen's compositions, the pleasant "Jerusalem," listed as a "bonus" track, is performed by the string quartet (Otis Harriel and Kevin Rogers, violin; Stephanie Bibbo, viola; Doug Machiz, cello).

Although "chamber jazz" encompasses only a small niche in the far wider world of contemporary improvised music, when it is as well- designed and ably performed as it is on Cycles 1, it could conceivably awaken the interest even of listeners who are not usually drawn to its orbit.