Frail Lumber      Moersbow/OZZO      Minaret Minuets      Afiadacampos      what we talk      Samuel      Music for the radio program This American Life      Drawings      Scharfefelder      Bitter Love Songs      Beckett      We Were The Phliks      Song Songs Song      christangelfox      Plunderplunderphonics      From the Diary of Dog Drexel      96 Gestures      this that      Mamet      Dénouement      Hornets Collage      Five Frozen Eggs      48 Motives      Sonotropism      Disaster at Sea      Fugu      Running with Scissors

Context is the operative for   success regarding Scott Fields’ musical vision. While capable guitarists are a dime a dozen, only a handful compose and improvise in a challenging setting with the consistency of Fields. By surrounding himself with players of the highest caliber, Fields’ group suggests a finely tuned, living entity. This quartet serves as an important reminder of what creative improvised music has to offer. In this case, a nimble musical vehicle with all-wheel drive. — Jon Morgan,   Cadence Magazine

Five Frozen Eggs — the sleeve-notes   explain the title — strikes something of a balance among the various styles Fields is investigating, loosening the chamberish qualities of some of the pieces without surrendering the rather formal, almost courtly kind of free organization he seems to be interested in. His own playing here eschews much in the way of effects and there is a sense of contrapuntalism among the four musicians which makes this record perhaps the best place to sample Fields’s music — energetic, occasionally volatile, but fundamentally about form and its effect on content—   Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, sixth edition

Five Frozen Eggs merges the   tensile throttle of Disaster and charged largeness of 48 Motives. — Andrew Bartlett,   Eugene Weekly

Fields wrote all of the   compositions on this stimulating CD and plays them on guitar with pianist Marilyn Crispell, bassist Hans Sturm, and percussionist Hamid Drake. Despite often performing quietly, they take plenty of risks. Fields employs harmonic and rhythmic/metric concepts derived from composer Stephen Dembski, which he’s modified for use in an improvising context. Often his group’s playing, though not conventionally melodic, is lyrical. Much of the disc features thoughtful, pointillistic collective improvisation. Crispell’s the most aggressive player here and performs impressively. Her work ranges from pensive to jarringly percussive, but is always well thought out, inventive, and clearly articulated. Fields plays economically, concentrating on adding color to the ensemble. Sturm and Drake make valuable contributions, listening closely to what’s going on and responding with intelligence and creativity. — Harvey Pekar,   Jazziz

The compositions of the American   guitarist, Scott Fields, move between Jazz and New Music. The songs working as outline sketches, reflecting feelings, serve as a starting point for the numerous, free improvisations of the participating musicians. Powerful, swinging or grooving collective improvisations are as possible as entertaining lyric moments or ironic comedy. Notable here is the aloof, alluding style of pianist Marilyn Crispell. Hamid Drake, known for his earlier work with Peter Brotzman, plays a powerful but nuance filled percussion. In the combination of their soliloquies, the musicians of the Scott Fields Ensemble produce a cohesive, satisfying, and unique sound. Five Frozen Eggs is an energetic but varied and versatile recording, filled with all sorts of surprises. — Thomas Forkert,   Jazz Podium