This 2005 release contains four pieces, a triptych of improvised, contrasting segments, along with a 27-minute composition, all held together by Buckner's unique voice. At once ethereal and earthy, Buckner travels the poles of idiomatic borrowings, referencing European intellectual art music and spontaneous tribal trance, with an organic ease, achieving a marvel of impromptu, plastic form. The first of the three, a solo improvisation titled "Alone", is a 13-minute piece that sounds like Gregorian chant meets Schoenberg, establishing for the listener the tendencies of the voyage to come. This is no easy-listening entertainment by any means and requires the kind of concentrated attention one needs to give to any serious work to fully experience the nuances and intentions of the composer-performer.
In the second improvisation, Buckner meets his instrumental foil in cellist David Darling, whose playing has the same adventurous, yet velvety, soaring quality as Buckner's baritone. The two weave together an entwining counterpoint that is a delight to the ear, with unpredictable, supple twists and turns in the improvisational flow.
The third piece of the triptych features an encounter with pianist Borah Bergman that sounds like set of Schubert songs given free rein, the romantic struggling without a net to express himself with all the wordless wonders of the human voice.
The composition "Ilex" that rounds off the album is a little less interesting to these ears, but, having said that, one must acknowledge the interest in the textures that the composer, saxophonist Earl Howard brings to the piece combining Buckner's baritone with electronics, Gustavo Aguilar's percussion washes and the lace work of Wu Man's pipa, an intriguing-sounding Chinese counterpart to the guitar. The minimal means achieve grand effects in spots, with a slowly evolving form that arcs and spirals for nearly half an hour of captivating music.
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