Arthur Blythe: Night Song, Clarity 1016 * * * *

Arthur Blythe's accomplishments have always come through balancing contrasts. He received widespread accolades when his lustrous, seemingly ageless vibrato found equilibrium with his electric free-jazz/rock/funk amalgamation In The Tradition band in the early 80's. For Night Song, Blythe enlisted some longtime colleagues alongside new associates on a disc that draws on international folk idioms while avoiding world-music clichés.

The only other breath instruments on Night Song belong to Blythe's longtime partner/tuba-player Bob Stewart and Chico Freeman - who does quadruple duty on bass clarinet and percussion as well as producer and interviewer on the disc's liner notes. Everyon else in the septet is a percussionist. While Arto Tuncboyaciyan, Gust Tsillis, Josh Jones and David Frazier draw from Armenian, Caribbean and African American rhythmic sources, none of these individual derivations are too obvious. Ellington/Strayhorn geographic suites and James Newton's musical expedition are clear precedents. The blend of instrumental ranges and layers of accurately stated percussion enhances blythe's compelling presence. He soars on the title track and makes great tonal leaps on "Ransom." The heavy percussion/tuba mixture makes the music gracefully coalesce into diminuendo as much as it serves as a launching pad, expecially on "Cause Of It All."

Night Song also presents Blythe's uncanny lighthearted approach to jazz standards. He and stewart sound boisterous on Thelonious Monk's "We See"; it's a perspective the composer would probably have welcomed. The group also keeps Strayhorn's "Blood Count" from becoming too ponderous.

As an audiophile label, Clarity has touted the distinctive sound quality of the disc. Blythe's group recorded using dual microphones in a Berkely, Calif., church, and the mix presents a breathing evenness. Night Song's sonic achievements away from a regular studio prove that these techniques should be tried more often.

-Aaron Cohen