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Album Review

Tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby's trio record with bassist Drew Gress and drummer Paul Motian falls somewhere between the pianoless groups of Sonny Rollins and Ornette Coleman, starting off with Ornette's "Humpty Dumpty." The music is sparse much of the time, but tied at least loosely to chordal improvisation. Malaby is usually the lead voice and sets the direction of the music, although Gress and Motian are important if subtle contributors. Malaby varies the emotions and tempos, with the searching and mournful "Dorotea la Cautiva," the adventurous "No Brainer," "What Is This Thing Called Love," and "Cosas" (which is based on "All The Things You Are") being among the highlights. Malaby gives the impression that he could improvise endlessly without running out of interesting ideas.