Somewhere, Stanley Crouch’s brain is exploding. If John Coltrane and free jazz represented a repudiation of everything Crouch holds dear, how would he react to Box3 and Beautiful Bells, projects that merge improvised horns and percussion with computers and synthesizers? It’s fair to wonder if this is jazz at all considering the processed, mediated nature of the sounds and performances captured here, but both projects are unquestionably provocative and the world’s better because they’re in it.

 

Box3’s Prototype probably conforms more closely to what the suspicious might fear. Trombonist Jeff Albert’s playing can be a little skreek-and-squonky here, and pieces as a whole sometimes feel like a series of short thoughts clustered together to stand as a long thought. At the same time, Dan Oestreicher’s modular synthesizer and Justin Peake’s software environments lead to a fascination with texture, and there is a very cool interplay between the trombone and the not-found-in-nature sounds they create and process. The trio is definitely more sensitive to dynamics than many improvised music groups are, so nothing turns into a musical hailstorm, and that, too, is encouraging.

 

Phantom Pleasures leans the other way, presenting gentle, ambient electronic music that only occasionally roils the waters. It’s not truly ambient, though, because distant notes flutter creating an air of unease, and there’s enough movement in the pieces to suggest that Justin Peake wants you to notice the compositions. Still, everything is hushed and cast in the mid-to-low frequencies, with programmed rhythms often riding on top of everything else. The best pieces establish a strong mood such as the simple, elegant “Nacht,” but even the tracks that are less defined seem to be opening the doors to further exploration by Peake, just as Box3 feels like part of a journey rather than a destination.