**1/2 Ben Neill

TRIPTYCAL

(Verve/Antilles)

Ben Neill is a classically trained composer who has worked with the likes of avant-gardist John Cage as well as DJs Spooky and Olive (whose vinyl mixing appears here). He garnishes his soundscapes with the blaring calm of his own invention, the "mutantrumpet." Although it looks like a traditional trumpet with extra bells and valves, Neill's computer manipulates its signals to create a refreshing fusion of future and past, man and machine. This album showcases his invention almost too much, but Neill makes up for tooting his own horn with exceptional transitions from minimal rhythms to striated electronic epiphanies (particularly on "Dream Phase"), and on "Propeller" with skilled drums-and-bass futurism. His last album had a "Calgon, take me away!" bubble-bath vibe; this one is a headier excursion - albeit with the recording a tad flat. Triptycal is awash in talent and vision, but '95's Green Machine (Astralwerks; originally presented with slide projections at New York's Paula Cooper Gallery) is a better choice for enthusiasts of ambiance.

-- Joshua Brown

(Ben Neill performs with DJ Spooky, Edsel, Chainsuck, and Willie Wisley upstairs at the Middle East tonight, December 5.)