Cosmosamatics, the

Joyous free-jazz combo led by local hero Sonny Simmons. He shares the lead with another sax, creating dextrous, twining lines of music, mostly fast and exciting but with some attention to clarity (it's not one big blur). Jay Rosen does a good job on drums, and William Parker is on bass because that's the law.

James Carter guests on #2 and 5 ... he's a renowned mainstream sax player with a bit of an experimental bent (he's covered Braxton, e.g.), and he fits into the mix well.

Upbeat, rollicking stuff. Play it!

1- Bright, upbeat, w/Egyptian-style march theme
2- Prettier theme than #1, but more frantic soloing
3- Slow track that still gets into blazing solos
4- Tangy mid-Eastern flavor. A casually paced groove. Adds tabla and bassoon (!) to the mix.
5- Glorious mid-paced jumble.