by Thom JurekWho would have thought a series of soprano saxophone duets would be compelling? This album documents three nights of a soprano saxophone throw-down in 1988 by three of the world's most infamous practitioners of the improviser's art on the instrument -- with Lacy being the unquestioned king of the straight horn. All the players led for one night; each grouped together all of the possible combinations in solo and duet forms, and then performed a brief trio piece as an encore. The compositions as they're known here are three duets by Parker, four playing with the others, two with Lacy, one with Coxhill, there's one Coxhill work with Lacy, and one Lacy piece for all three. This album and these performances are all about integration, not only of individual approaches and styles, of harmony, improvisation, and organization, as well as phrasing and tone. There are tutters and stops, long, flowing lines, solos with one player appropriating a rhythm section motif. On the trio piece at the end led by Lacy, there are three different modalities at work simultaneously, all meeting inside of one tone interval at the center of the meter. This creates, texture and color sure, but it's more than that; it's music as pure and simple as it can be coming from three men who breathe it. So to answer the question in the first sentence, Three Blokes is not only compelling, it's riveting.