Circle - the Paris Concert

Personnel: Anthony Braxton(reeds, percussion), Chick Corea(piano), Dave Holland(bass, cello), Barry Altschul(drums, percussion)

This performance, in my opinion, is about as close to a masterpiece as there is in contemporary jazz. You have two of the all time great contemporary jazz composers in Braxton and Holland, and you have, essentially, Miles Davis' fusion rhythm section in Corea, Holland, and Altschul. Genius composers and brilliant, well equipped musicians typically make for an outstanding performance and that is what you have here. It will most likely take numerous listens for anyone to become comfortable with this music and to have a sense of what is going on(I still am not able to fully wrap my head around it). Nevertheless, the results are splendid, as this quartet creates engaging, dynamic music from beginning to end.