The Bottesini Project

Remarkable things can happen during musical improvisation when there are no preconceived ideas, no preparation or discussion. In fact, part of the magic is not knowing what will happen, especially when you have guys like Tortoise guitarist Jeff Parker, Nels Cline drummer Scott Amendola and cornetist Ron Miles along for the ride. Local saxophonist Paul Riola recruited the three musicians, as well as DJ Olive, who’s worked with Medeski, Martin & Wood, pedal-steel player Glenn Taylor and bassist Doug Anderson for this live recording, which ended up being 100 minutes of music spread over two discs. Since all seven musicians are high-caliber players, when they come together on grooves like “Nice to Meet You” and “Time Zone Change,” the tunes sound almost pre-written, even though everything was composed on the spot.