Recorded at a Midtown studio with less than 24 hours' notice, the album features Masa Kamaguchi on bass and Jeff Hirshfield on drums, musicians with whom Mr. Kimbrough had just reconnected after a long hiatus.
His new group, 4th Dimension, consists of Gary Husband on keyboards, Hadrien Feraud on bass and Mark Mondesir on drums: musicians who appeared on Mr. McLaughlin's intermittently impressive album "Industrial Zen" (Verve), released last year.
A new audio effect Epworth found that sounds "like a zombie's face being mashed in," which apparently makes for a good kick-drum (musicians, take note).
Also appearing is Jessie Mae Hemphill, the feisty blues singer and granddaughter of the fife-and-drum musician Sid Hemphill.
Today Mr. Turner is believed to be the last fife-and-drum musician of his generation, laboriously handmaking fifes from bamboo on his property and playing improvisatory pieces that mix traditional military fife-and-drum music with traces of West African polyrhythms, fife music and dancing.
Though Mr. Dickinson lives a short drive from Mr. Turner, he said he first discovered the fife-and-drum musician at age 5 when he saw Mr. Turner (accompanied by Ms. Hemphill on drums) performing on, of all places, the television show "Mister Rogers Neighborhoodd".
She recruited Macpherson to play drums, musician Luis Lerma, bass, and Nate Farley, guitar.
Ms. Scheinman's partners were the guitarist Nels Cline, the bassist Todd Sickafoose and the drummer Jim Black: musicians with overlapping histories and proclivities.
Its other members are the trumpeter Randy Sandke, the pianist Ted Rosenthal, the bassist Pat O'Leary and the drummer Dennis Mackrel — musicians not generally associated with the jazz avant-garde, despite a few meaningful forays.
Its current lineup features the guitarist Adam Rogers, the bassist Fima Ephron and the drummer Nate Smith: musicians who know how to keep a cool demeanor while pushing their output into the red.
He's working with the violinist Jenny Scheinman, the steel guitarist Greg Leisz, the bassist Tony Scherr and the drummer Kenny Wollesen — musicians who have formed the core of his stable in recent years — as well as Lee Townsend, his longtime producer.
