Recorded at New York's Knitting Factory during this past January's snow emergency, Byron's fourth album as a leader is a live recording in the classic mold. Although the audience of hardy fans who braved the blizzard was small, the quintet -- featuring pianist Uri Caine, guitarist David Gilmore, bassist Kenny Davis, and drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith -- are clearly eager to play. Like most live sets, there are no new tunes; instead the band explore and revitalize more familiar ones. In other words, they play the hell out of the material.

The album opens with a nimble version of Ornette Coleman's rarely covered "WRU." During his solo, Byron begins with a lilting unaccompanied passage in the carefree vein established by the tune, then waxes light and dark after everyone else enters. Byron has a great knack for the unexpected emotional turn; his lines skitter and swerve from bluesy hooks to joyfully leaping lines to riffs that veer suddenly into anger or corrosively sarcastic taunts.

Byron's gear-shifting can jar you with surprising revelations. His complete control of the instrument, from the nether reaches of the chalumeau register to the highest peaks of the altissimo, gives him great expressive range. At the beginning of the second tune in the medley of "Next Love/The Allure of Entanglement," he evokes tenderness and vulnerability using the woody midrange of the instrument; toward the end he erupts in shrill anger. On "Sex/Work (Clarence/Anita)," his wide-ranging solo, full of stepwise lines that cover great distances in small increments, is punctuated by piercing high notes, low moans, and hoarse shrieks.

The rest of the group are just as expansive as their leader. Pianist Caine is both versatile and expressive, whether he's feeding church chords to Byron at the opening of "Tuskegee Strutter's Ball" or using the melody of "WRU" to unify an improvisation that builds to an explosive climax. Drummer Smith, who takes a volcanic solo on "Tuskegee Strutter's Ball, " is a great percussive colorist who pushes the band hard. Guitarist Gilmore is also a fine colorist, but there's more bluster than substance in his solos. Bassist Davis makes good use of space in a nicely balanced solo on "Sex/Work." They make a responsive unit that works well together and shadows Byron's every feint.

On Bar.B.Que Dog, Byron joins members of the San Francisco-based President's Breakfast for an album of free improvisations. Drummer Click Dark (né Bill Langton), keyboardist Dred Scott, bassist Nate Pitts, and guitarist Will Bernard are the rhythm section of the Bay Area's popular dub-funk-jazz-whatever band, but for a change of pace they turned to improvisation with Langton's NEC classmate Byron as special guest (sounds kinda Phish-y, doesn't it?). They do a good job of keeping the music flowing and exploring unusual timbres while avoiding the rookie mistakes of self-indulgence and aimlessness. The album moves from slow, dreamy opening tracks like "Stratospheres" through high-energy free-funk fantasias, like "Macon Book" and "Porcupines and Grapefruit," and back again. Although it's probably little more than a footnote in the careers of all concerned, it's a free-spirited, often funny, musically engaging one.

-- Ed Hazell