This is Paul Bley's first solo recording from 1972, and it marked a significant new direction in solo piano. He had been using synthesizers extensively at the time, and he wanted to achieve the same kind of sustain in acoustic music. Using close miking and reverb, he got long delays that magnified the piano's sustain while leaving the instrument's harmonics intact. His increasingly spare style further enhances the effect, creating rich musical life in the spaces he leaves. The version of Carla Bley's oft-recorded "Ida Lupino" is a classic, "Harlem" is slow and refined barrelhouse, and Annette Peacock's title tune is a sonorous, emotionally evocative work. In Bley's hands, even anxiety is beautiful, and this CD's movements through the moody and serene seem to magnify quiet. --Stuart Broomer