Review by Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery

LEAP OF FAITH [PEK/GLYNIS LOMON et al] – Itempotency of Union (Evil Clown 05; USA)  This version of Leap of Faith features PEK (Dave Peck) on saxes, bassoon & voice, Glynis Lomon on cello & voice, James Coleman on theremin and Yuri Zbitnov on percussion & voice. This session was recorded in December of 2000. Leap of Faith is longtime experimental ensemble from the Cambridge, Mass area which always includes PEK and Glynis Lomon. Ms. Lomon can be heard on the last two releases from Bill Dixon. The drummer here and for many of the LoF sessions is Yuri Zbitnov. Boston area-based theremin player, James Coleman, is also a member of the BSC and can be found on a few discs from the Boston underground cast. Again, there is a slow, serious and introspective vibe for the first section of the long (44 minute) title track. The low-end sax, cello and bowed or rubbed cymbals provide a rather hypnotic ambiance. When the low-key but strange vocals come in, it is as if there are ghosts floating around the studio adding the voices sparsely and selectively. The session is much less dense than most of the other LoF discs that I have already reviewed. The laid-back quality here and the clean, unobtrusive recording add some subtle charm. Their percussionist, Yuri Zbitnov, seems to have a nice arsenal of percussion: cymbals, marimba or balaphon, etc. More than an hour long and relatively captivating throughout.

Bruce Lee Gallanter – Downtown Music Gallery