"Pianist Joel Futterman's search is a disarmingly personal one. Its process captured on recordings often appears to be a wholly group-oriented activity, which Futterman's long list of shared conversations with Kidd Jordan and Ike Levin (saxophones), Alvin Fielder and Robert Adkins (drums), and William Parker (bass) can attest to. These are often blistering sets of bright, energetic dialogue that's rooted in the tradition. But especially in "free music," the unaccompanied performance is often treated as language development rather than blank-mind exploration, chiefly because the assumption has been made (and it's not always invalid) that without a foil, one's chances of harping on clichés or isolating oneself increases. But Futterman is an extraordinarily "free" pianist, spontaneously developing clusters, masses, and brushy runs on an equal footing with stride, boogie-woogie, and lushly modern romanticism. In the last four years, he has released fifteen albums of solo piano ranging from responsive outpourings (The Fall, inspired by a physical accident) to music reflecting on the work of Eric Dolphy and Albert Ayler.

Blues for My Brother is the latest installment, a dedication to Ronald Futterman that begins with rolling and earthy improvisations that make connections where they are patently unexpected. Futterman's approach to the blues and ragtime is interesting, because it's shot through with a penchant for coiled, spiky and pointillist right hand motion. For a player who can superimpose broad keyboard strokes and create a hell of a lot of mass, he's extraordinarily deft and light on his feet, which I suppose one has to be in order to retain a semblance of physicality. "Blues for Ronnie" is the first of four improvisations, with Futterman's easy left hand roll supporting glassy, upper-register snatches and pulpit-pounding declarations. It doesn't take long for parallel voices to emerge from his left and right hands; although inextricably tied together, Futterman's inventions seem to move in different directions, almost in auto-dialogue. While there's a constant rhythmic refrain, Futterman begins to pull phrases together into deep, resonant swipes and volcanic asides, alternately harping on the piano's roiling depths and producing bare-knuckled trills. At the heart of this internal commentary is whimsy, offsetting an admittedly fascinating tension.

"Swingin' on Bryn Mawr" is partially an ode to the pianist's hometown of Chicago, an oddly hushed and skipping funk set against glassine flourishes, resonant clambering and blocks of color. Futterman is detailed and romantic on "Reflections," mixing piano string rustles into a lush but moody sketch, as suspended chords create a complex substrate, and single notes provide terse and open-ended accents. The set closes with the explosive "Movin' On," a twenty-minute odyssey that retains a toe-tapping groove, despite powerful glissandi and an impossibly particulate rumble. Overall there is a distinct and unabashed beauty in Blues for My Brother, as well as subtle humor and phrases that continually question their surroundings. If this captures the relationship of Joel and Ronald Futterman, and his brother's influence, no greater gift could be imagined. But these four pieces also are imbued with the same spark that one finds in all of the pianist's solo and group music, so the result is that this disc is one part of a larger opus that's only starting to become clear."-Clifford Allen, Point of Departure