Marilyn Crispell, Thommy Andersson, Michala Østergaard-Nielsen: The Cave

A temporal fragility warmly embraces as the The Cave opens with the title cut. And since a vast portion of the world's troubled population holds a childhood fear of caves and the potential human criteria that bound rowdy from them, things could get tricky. But they do not. Marilyn Crispell, in what could be another defining moment in a lifetime of bold defining moments, holds those anxieties at bay, and does so throughout this stunning testament.

"My Spirit Heart," like The Cave itself—composed fully by Danish drummer/composer Michala Østergaard-Nielsen, sets an intimate atmosphere for a full-on reflection of what we stand to lose if we let the world take the music, our hearts, our arts away. A hymn as powerful and personal as "My Spirit Heart" would not exist. That is a very depressing thing to contemplate. This is where Crispell, in full muse and mind-lock with Nielsen and bassist Thommy Andersson, sets upon a tone of impressionistic clarity, making "My Spirit Heart" one of the most beautiful expanses of eleven minutes ever recorded. 

"Improv #1," Andersson's solo turn, rings like an echo through Denmark—resonant, earthy, dark—and leads into the opening cymbal-swish-whisper of "T.B.A." From there, Crispell, as much of her own voice as she is of composer Nielsen, threads dimensions, landing in the tumult of "Nine Tone Story," where Nielsen, Crispell, and Andersson, like kids in a playground, bash about. Hypnotists all, their sound is a beauty for each listener. 

"Into the Light" and "Improv #2," like the music within a Buddhist Temple, are a wonderfully welcoming sound in a world that warily, if at all, welcomes.  And though anything can be expected, it is hard to fathom where the mid-'40s mood ballad "A Smile of the Butterfly" comes from except to be happy it came into being when it did. This throwback track has everything going for it—Nielson's spectral gongs, Crispell's melodic light, Andersson's after-hour depth—and closes out The Cave, leading to future replays.