House of Return [Digipak] (CD - 2008)

Personnel: Nels Cline (guitars, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, percussion); Jeff Gauthier (violin, electric violin, percussion, sound effects); David Whitham, David Witham (piano, keyboards); Joel Hamilton (bass guitar); Alex Cline (drums, percussion).

Recording information: Threshold Sound And Vision, Santa Monica, CA (01/10/2008/01/11/2008).

On the excellent HOUSE OF RETURN, violinist Jeff Gauthier leads his "goatette," a quintet comprising a guitarist, drummer, keyboardist, and bassist. Like most of Gauthier's work, HOUSE OF RETURN might be termed fusion, though this is jazz fusion of a different sort, one that draws as much from film music, electronica and ambient, folk, and progressive rock as it does from BITCHES BREW-era Miles Davis. Gauthier and company weave atmospheric, intricate pieces that range both inside and outside, threading improvisation against structured rhythms, or quick melodic heads against a churning backdrop. This is the type of creative work that gives contemporary jazz a good name. minimize