Everything Is Alive Winter & Winter***

The cello didn't feature among the first jazz instruments, for reasons obvious to anyone who has ever tried to play one in a marching band. But nowadays there's no reason why the cello shouldn't be allowed to hang out with the cool instruments. Hank Roberts is one of the few jazz cellists worthy of the name. Over the past 20 years he has blazed a modernist trail for his instrument, blending folk, jazz and classical approaches, and collaborating closely with some of the leading improvisers of the New York scene, including Tim Berne and Bill Frisell. Here Roberts is joined by guitarist Frisell's regular trio for a set of the cellist's own compositions, which range from deconstructed down-home blues (complete with slides and slurs that would make Rostropovich wince) to minimalist essays in funky soul. It's all played with that almost Beckett-like restraint typical of Frisell and his groups: very little happens, over and over again. hankrobertsmusic.com