Wynton Marsalis, Marcus Printup, Riley Mullins, Roger Ingram, Russell Gunn, Ryan Kisor, and Seneca Black on trumpet, Wess Anderson on clarinet, alto and soprano saxophone, James Carter on clarinet, bass clarinet, and baritone saxophone, Victor Goines on clarinet, tenor and soprano saxophone and bass clarinet, Walter Blanding on soprano saxophone, Robert Stewart on tenor saxophone, Ron Westray and Wayne Goodman on trombone, Wycliffe Gordon on trombone and tuba, Michael Ward on violin, Eric Reed on piano, Reginald Veal on bass, and Herlin Riley on drums and tambourine with vocals from Cassandra Wilson, Jon Hendricks, and Miles Griffith. CD

A very unusual moment from the mighty Bernie Worrell – the keyboardist that most folks know for his work as part of the P-Funk universe of George Clinton – stepping out here on an early 90s album done in collaboration with producer Bill Laswell! Like most of Laswell's other projects around the time, there's a spirit here that's not only genre-busting, but also aimed towards some of the more unusual possibilities of collaboration – at a level that has Bernie working with talents from soul, funk, jazz, and some other styles too – a lineup that includes Amina Claudine Myers, Fred Wesley, Marty Erlich, Umar Bin Hassan, Buckethead, and Vincent Chancey – all coming together in musical modes that are very different than Bernie's best-known solo album from the early 80s. There's a very dark spirit here at times – that layered sound that Laswell did so well – but mixed with these other moments that have a surprising sense of jazz majesty – almost with the spiritual core of a Bill Lee soundtrack. Titles include "The Mask", "Moon Over Brixton", "Witness For The Defense", "Set The Tone/Victory", "Gladiator Skull", and "Fields Of Play". CD