Real Time Two

Italian percussionist Andrea Centazzo may be best known for his extraordinary ability to attract the world's best of the free-style improvisers to record with him. While this recording is likely to be hard to find, it is well worth seeking out. Centazzo leads a trio with English saxophonist Evan Parker and American avant-gardist Alvin Curran who performs on his customary synthesizer but also chimes in on piano and trumpet. The two long tracks appear totally improvised but they develop their own peculiar structures, building over time. The results are some of the best of the genre from the 1970s. This CD was not released until 2000, more than 20 years after the recording took place. In truth, the trio was probably way ahead of its time with the kind of sensational (not sensationalist) interaction among the three virtuosi a real treat. This one can purr like a kitten or burn with the best, but it never lags and always offers something appealing. ~ Steven Loewy