by Scott YanowThe versatile Joe McPhee (who on this set plays flügelhorn, pocket trumpet, tenor, and soprano) teams up with Bill Smith's ensemble (Smith on soprano, sopranino, and alto; violinist David Prentice; and bassist David Lee), plus drummer Richard Bannard for a stimulating set of avant-garde music. The interplay between these masterful improvisers on group originals and Albert Ayler's classic "Ghosts" is consistently impressive and worthy of a close investigation by the more open-eared segment of the jazz audience.