2025 stock John Blum (piano), Denis Charles (drums), Antonio Grippi (alto sax, alto clarinet), William Parker (bass). Studio recordings from 1998. There are few sessions to rival this one for sheer urgency and gusto. It's as if something pent-up in these four musicians waited for this combination of players to unleash it... the music explodes into action. Pianist John Blum is a secret hero of New York's free jazz community, known as a proficient and forceful improviser in the tradition of his mentors, Borah Bergmann and Cecil Taylor. Blum's performance on "Astrogeny" is his shining moment on disc to date. The legendary Denis Charles was at his best when paired with William Parker; together they formed one of the great, yet under-documented, rhythm sections in the music. Antonio Grippi, a shadowy figure in free-jazz history, makes an appropriately rousing contribution on alto saxophone.