No Nation But Imagination [CD], Alexander Hawkins, CD

With the dazzling quintet project No Nation but Imagination, British pianist and composer Alexander Hawkins presents a fascinating musical panorama, a distillation and synthesis of di?erent traditions and influences, reflecting the broad spectrum of an extraordinary musical spirit. "The improvisation-driven music opens new vistas in Hawkins' work" writes Peter Margasak in the liner notes and adds: "Few musicians are as thoughtful and rigorous as Alexander Hawkins, a perpetual student of his craft writ large who routinely straddles an analytic mindset and an experiential one. His insistent curiosity consistently leads him to fresh discoveries of all kinds of musical practices and traditions, and his gift for assimilating the knowledge he amasses provides an ever-expanding range of possibilities. The material was wide open for the group, his post-production work masterfully knits the music together into what appears as some of the most ensemble-oriented endeavors I've ever heard from him." Hawkins is joined by Rhodri Davies: Harp, Hamid Drake: Drums, Nicole Mitchell: Flute and Matthew Wright: Turntables, Live Sampling