by Thom JurekSaxophonist Frank Lowe is without exception the most direct disciple of Don Cherry's musical transculturalism. His own method of playing and improvising calls not only on the jazz lineage's great masters on his own horn, but those of others -- like Cherry's pocket trumpet or Mal Waldron's pianism -- and from the traditions of the world's great musics, whether they be Javanese court music, West African griot folk songs, Caribbean pop music, American blues and pop, or Japanese gagaku for inspiration. This trio date, recorded in late 1995, featured the great Charles Moffett on drums and was the recording debut of the Midwestern bass giant Tim Flood. According to the notes, the session began with less than auspicious results -- it took seven takes of "Impressions," two of Cherry's "Art Deco" and four of "The Blessing" to make things move. "The Blessing" didn't even make the record. The master takes of the other two tunes are gorgeous and only hint at the other things found here, including a completely out to lunch "Happy House," a wildly soulful read of Pharoah Sanders' "Bethera," and the Art Ensemble's "For Louie." Lowe's own compositions "Soul of Fortune," the faux-funky "Nothing But Love," which touches upon calypso, and "Don" numbers one and two, are among Lowe's finest, full of deep emotion, sharp accents, and rhythmic invention of all three players. His intervallic sense is warm and accessible and his modal invention is anchored in a love of chromatic and timbral sophistication. The final track, a read of "Body & Soul," is a virtual reinvention of the tune from its harmony, which is reduced and then restructured, to its melody, which is syncopated according to off beat changes. It's a fitting end to this eye and ear opening session.