HEAD BAND

THERE IS NO THING like music made by a great band that’s been together for years. With a wealth of recording and gigging under their belts, the individual members can interact in a way that borders on thought transference. The phenomenon reaches its epitome when paired with the high level of technical facility and harmonic knowledge typical of a jazz ensemble. Sadly, jazz groups that stay together for decades are even rarer than the rock variety. One was Paul Motian’s collaboration with Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano. After two decades, they often sounded like a single organism.

Fortunately, another aggregation led by Eivind Aarset is still active. For