Roscoe Mitchell Creative Orchestra, Sketches from Bamboo (side A)

On 1979's Sketches from Bamboo, Mitchell leads a huge group through three of his pieces.  The ensemble leans heavily on brass, and features notable players like Anthony Braxton, George Lewis, Kenny Wheeler, Leo Smith, and Marilyn Crispell.  In the two longer pieces, "Sketches from Bamboo", parts one and two, Mitchell appears to have been influenced by György Ligeti — fields of sounds float by, with highlights peaking out over the top.  Where Ligeti often achieves these fields with masses of strings, Mitchell uses a more modest set of brass.  Bobby Naughton's vibraphone often creates the high-frequency movement over the top.  The shorter piece, "Linefineyon Seven" feels less special — a simple and repetitive drum beat, which loosely references jazz, creates a foundation over which the waves of sound pass.  This constrained structure pulls the piece back from its floaty feeling, and creates an unresolved contradiction in the work.  The recording sounds great, apart from an unnecessarily exaggerated treble on the cymbals, and the unmemorable cover design matches Leo Smith's conceptually similar Budding of a Rose LP.