By the time of his Paris concert,
Cecil Taylor's quartet had reached a particularly high level of musical communication. Not only did altoist
Jimmy Lyons (whose sound but not choice of notes was sometimes close to
Charlie Parker's) find a place for himself in the dense ensembles, but one can hear him and the pianist/leader echoing each other's phrases in spots. The greatly underrated
Alan Silva (on the evidence of this record) was one of
Taylor's strongest bassists, at times bowing with the ferocity of a horn; in addition, the flexible drummer
Andrew Cyrille "battles"
Taylor quite successfully. Most surprising is the use of space during the first part of
"Student Studies" and the various sounds utilized on
"Amplitude," predating the innovations of
the Art Ensemble of Chicago. A very interesting set, recommended for the open-eared. ~ Scott Yanow