Gift, The

An hour-long improvisation with Roy Campbell (trumpet/flute), William Hooker (drums), and Jason Hwang (violin), three big-name free-jazz guys. It gets intense but isn't a Peter Brotzmann-style blowout; the tone is more careful and concentrated. Hooker gets to show off quite a bit but doesn't overpower the other two.

Schematic breakdown, for the sake of on-air DJs playing excerpts of the CD:

-60:00 to -52:00 -- Starts soft but quickly gets into an active but still restrained trumpet-violin dialogue.

-50:00 to -37:00 -- Some spirited trumpet, fast. Gets a bit intense, cools off by the end of this passage. Nice ending point just beyond -37:00.

-36:30 to -32:30 -- Calmer. Flute makes its lone appearance.

-32:30 to -25:00 -- Snare drum sparks aggressive trumpet and pedal-enhanced violin (think guitar effects).

-25:00 to -15:00 -- Building intensity: fast trumpet. Nice passage ending with a bit of a drum solo.

-10:00 to 0:00 -- High, squealy. Intense with waves of cymbals, into a crashing drum finish.