Review by By Bruce Lee Gallanter

LEAP OF FAITH [PEK/GLYNIS LOMON et al] – Just Push Through It (Evil Clown; USA) This Leap of Faith set was recorded in November of 1999 at the Zeitgeist Gallery in Cambridge, MA. Like perhaps many of the dozen-plus CD-Rs by Leap of Faith, this one consists of two long 30-minute tracks. The first piece, “Possibility, or Actuality?” features the original Leap of Faith core trio of (Dave) PEK on saxes, clarinets, bassoon & voice, Glynis Lomon on cello & Voice and Sydney Smart on drums. I’ve caught Ms. Lomon playing live with Bill Dixon at the Victo Festival . Boston-area drummer Syd Smart has been around for many years and has worked with Raphe Malik, Frank Wright, Sam Rivers (1976) and Ted Daniels (more recently). The core trio always sound inspired and often make strange sounds with their voices to great effect, sometimes hilarious, sometimes disturbing. Musically, this is an impressive trio with bent reeds, bristling cello and crafty, ever-shifting drums. For the second piece, “Decidability”, the trio is joined by James Coleman on theremin, Bhob Rainey on soprano sax and Eric Rosenthal on percussion. All three guests can be found on a few other Leap of Faith discs. The double trio (or sextet) unfolds in an organic, free-flowing way. Bhob Rainey is one of the best, most distinctive improvisers to emerge from the Boston underground (a lower-case master) and he & PEK sound great together bending and twisting notes on their respective reeds in their way. Both percussionists also work well together with especially strong cymbals and drum work. There is great section where the theremin and Glynis’ voice sound like two ghosts howling together. Cosmic!

By Bruce Lee Gallanter – Downtown Music Gallery