Down Beat (1/94, p.48) - 4 1/2 Stars - Very Good Plus - "...[Roach and Taylor] circle each other in short solos, then pounce into ferocious duets; amid brilliant, all-out energy slaloms, Roach drops down to offer pulses that Taylor, with typical stubbornness, usually refuses to ride--though the two of them connect on deeper levels throughout...."

Rovi

Drummer Max Roach met up with the intense avant-garde pianist Cecil Taylor for a 1979 concert that resulted in this double CD. After Roach and Taylor play separate five-minute solos (Taylor's is surprisingly melodic and bluesy), they interact during a two-part 78-minute encounter that finds Roach not shy of occasionally taking control. The passionate music is quite atonal but coherent, with Taylor displaying an impressive amount of energy and the two masters (who had not rehearsed or ever played together before) communicating pretty well. This set is weakened a bit by a 17-minute radio interview that includes excerpts from the concert one just heard, although some of the anecdotes are interesting. No revelations really occur in the music, but it certainly holds one's interest. ~ Scott Yanow

Rovi