Art Ensemble of Chicago leader Roscoe Mitchell has a tremendous body of work comprising projects outside of that legendary group, and this latest offering documents concerts that took place at the Angelica festival in Bolgna in 2017.

It was an eclectic affair to say the least, with the Italian premiere of ‘Splatter’ and world premiere of ‘Distant Radio Transmission’ exploring the relationship between composition, improvisation and transcription. His fascination with this concept has already produced some thrilling work, but Mitchell's desire to push the creative envelope comes into its own as he moves between distinctly different frameworks.

Hearing him in a dense, heavily-layered orchestral setting, with its austere leaps and bounds of brass, strings and percussion that subvert marches and opera in equal measure is all the more satisfying when contrasted with ‘Breath And Pipes’, an absorbing duet with organist Francesco Fillidei, who Mitchell met on the day of the performance. The spontaneity of the exchange is electrifying and brimming with wit, whimsy and disciplined attention to detail from two open and focused improvisers.