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Back in 1994 Soul Note released Liebman's The Seasons (121245-2), an attempt to interpret nature via the permutations of a twelve-tone row. Mossblad has arranged some of this material, added his own twelve tone musical images, and the sum of this is presented here by Liebman with Mossblad's Ensemble, saxophones doubling woodwind plus percussion. Liebman's material now accounts for those tracks which derive from time of day, i.e. one, three, five and eight, Mossblad's those now evoking seasonal change - two, four, six and seven. It's useful, I found, to play them as separate sets at some point; it helps a fuller understanding of how things work and fit together. The Liebman-inspired tracks are the more lightly scored: "Sunrise" is mostly Liebman playing wooden flute against percussion, and the final "Sunset" subsides to that combination to finish the disc. "Dawn" features only Liebman and Hanning, and the saxophonist isn't heard at all on the more orchestral "Dusk", the only solo being Mossblad's alto flute. Mossblad's own compositions perhaps reflect something of his Swedish background: "Winter Light" is a long, astringent event implying some sense of that northern European climate. The pointillist "Fall Colors", the bubbling "Spring Flowers" and the (almost) relaxed "Summer Play" seem to offer a more generalised interpretation of seasonal change. To a degree programmatic, the music here is nevertheless driven throughout by a sometimes almost intimidatingly austere intelligence: you have to work for a reward from it, and if you want anything so old fashioned as a 'tune' you're advised to look elsewhere, which puts this set in line with most of Liebman's work, and now, I guess, Mossblad's. Another familiar factor - it's technically jaw-dropping; Liebman's soprano drives to the edges of the possible, the Mossblad Ensemble is supremely disciplined and drummer Hanning is magnificent. From Wire Magazine (England)

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