Roscoe Mitchell

Recorded at Audio For The Arts, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

The first disc is devoted to pieces for sundry wind instruments. Some of these are really modified solo works, and feature Mitchell overdubbing several parts.

Disc two is comprised entirely of works for solo alto saxophone. As such, it serves as an album-length suite of pieces, demonstrating Mitchell's versatility and creativity in the more restrictive concept of solo works for the same instrument, sans overdubs.

The last disc highlights Mitchell's percussive explorations. Most of his work in this domain has been done in what he calls the "Percussion Cage", a four-sided structure filled with hundreds of instruments.

While few of the works on this disc have as forceful a presence as the saxophone works on the preceding two, their delicate beauty and multi-tiered structures are a lovely listening experience.
Sure, triple CD sets are out of vogue, particularly for creative artists outside the mainstream. This may make Solo [3] seem all the more rarefied, but it is the wide reach of Mitchell's music that causes this kind of anthologization to be efficacious -- indeed, almost necessary.

Highly recommended.