js Most jazz fans are well aware of ‘free jazz’, which has, over the years, become quite common, but on “The Stone House”, Mark Wingfield and Markus Reuter bring something a little less frequented, free fusion. There is some precedent for the idea of free jazz rock/fusion to be found in some albums by Sonny Sharrock, Miles’ live Fillmore sessions, early Lifetime with Tony Williams, Larry Young and McLaughlin, as well as in-between-song jam sessions by fusion influenced rockers King Crimson. Still, such improvs are rare, simply because free fusion can be a risky endeavor. Whereas the free jazz musician is welcome to ignore a regular beat or any melodic content, the free fusion musician has a narrower tightrope to walk as most fusion fans expect some kind of groove, as well as some recognizable solo licks and melodies. To this end, much of “Stone House” is a total success as Mark, Marcus and crew come up with jams that are imaginative and free-wheeling, yet often very musical and a real rockin kick to listen to. At their very best, the two guitarists become a dream team of soaring psychedelic fret work, along the lines of what it would have sounded like if Pete Cosey could have teamed up with Robert Fripp. In between the more magical moments, there is the sort of searching that one could expect from a free improvisation like this, but usually it doesn’t take this crew too long to find what they are looking for. It also sounds like there was a certain amount of post jam editing to single out the best moments, but I may be wrong on that.

Opening track “Rush” contains some of the hottest moments, after the band discards a couple of grooves that don’t click. Once they find the right one, they are off for some very exciting psychedelic screaming fusion guitar work, backed by nimble syncopated rhythms from drummer Asaf Sirkis and bassist Yaron Stavi. The following track plods a bit on a generic rock beat, but number 3, “Silver”, picks up the pace and finds the two guitarists intertwining on some very Frippian intersecting guitar lines. “Fjords de Catalunya” is floating ambient sounds that work really well. Track 5, “Tarasque”, has the band in search mode, followed by some frantic moments, seems the band loses some cohesion on this one. They end the CD strong with “Bona Nit Senor Rovira”, which opens with some intense rocking, followed by more blissful melodic ambience.

There are some really great extended moments on “The Stonehouse”, some of the guitar work is far more imaginative than your average fusion jam, but the listener may also find some moments that find the band in search mode, which is to be expected from a session like this. Overall, a much better CD than I would have expected given the premise it is based on.

kev rowland This is one of those real rarities in modern music, an album that was recorded live in the studio with no overdubs and completely improvised, with no rehearsals or agreement beforehand as to where the direction was going to take them. Mark Wingfield (Jane Chapman; solo artist, and one half of the long-running guitar duo, with acoustic maestro, Kevin Kastning) on guitar, and Germany's Markus Reuter (Stick Men; The Crimson ProjeKct; Centrozoon) on touch guitar, they take the limits of their instruments and then just keep going. There are times when it is hard to realise that the sounds are coming from guitars as they are taken into brand new areas of tonal adventures.

On this journey they are accompanied by bassist Yaron Stavi (David Gilmour, Phil Manzanera, Robert Wyatt, Richard Galliano) and drummer Asaf Sirkis (Tim Garland, Mark Wingfield, Nicolas Meier), and of all four musicians it was to Asaf that I found my concentartion drawn most frequently. His deft touch on cymbals, and his use of different drums and approaches, often turned the soundscapes of Mark and Markus into the background for him to play against. Yaron keeps the overall sound warm and comforting, removing the sterility that is coming from the guitars.

Fully impovised music is rarely as compelling or interesting as this, as the quartet don’t feel the need to be flashy all the time but often just play and hold notes so that the tune can easily reach a logical conclusion. It is more New Age than jazz, more Brian Eno than John McLaughlin, although there are some feelings of fusion in what they do. This is yet another incredibly important release from Moonjune and Leo, and I look forward to their next endeavours with great interest.