Slava Ganelin / Lenny Sendersky: Hotel Cinema

Back when electronics instruments entered the vanguard of jazz, rock and other genres, the old adage, man vs. machine became a proverbial response due to excessive gyrations and overly hectic interplay between conventional instrumentalists and synth performers. Thankfully, things settled down and a maturation process evolved over time. Fast forwarding to the modern era, well-travelled Russians, saxophonist Lenny Sendersky and legendary free-jazz keyboardist Slava Ganelin spin an articulately crafted extended work into a hybrid jazz improvisational—symphonic opus forum. Recorded live at the Hotel Cinema in Tel Aviv, you could hear a pin drop at times via the crystalline audio production and a horde of polytonal crests and alternative routes.

Sendersky's jazzy soloing rides above his partner's use of samples, choral voices and classical-based orchestrations sans any use of pre-recorded loops or percussion overlays. However, it's nicely paced amid buoyantly executed subplots, spanning ominous circumstances, variable mood swings, military march progressions and transient paradigm shifts. The duo renders a pliant program, often tempered by the saxophonist's melodic intervals, occasionally leading to intensifying motifs and disparate sojourns into the netherworld. By no means is this sedate New Age music. Ganelin even integrates sacred overtures into symphonic voicings that soften the vibrancy of the ongoing developments. Indeed, a delightful listening experience that progresses quite rapidly while remaining focused and shrewdly enacted from start to finish. You won't detect any tinkering, noodling or obnoxious EFX-based blitzkriegs. On the contrary, it's a serious-minded venture, aligned with playful interludes and an optimistic outlook.