On track: Versatile turn from Besser and Bravura

Jonathan Besser is a man of many parts and styles, an ebullient New Yorker who made his name here in the 1970s as a bit of an avant-gardist.

These days, he's better known as a finalist for the Lilburn Prize with his orchestral piece Reflections in Thirds, or for the klezmerised and other joys he gives audiences with his group Bravura.

Bravura's latest album, Turn, presents them as a five-piece, including everything from violin and gamelan through to accordion, guitar, mandolin and bass. Naturally, Besser handles keyboards throughout.

Immaculately recorded by Steve Garden in the ambience of a Coromandel beach-house over a four-day retreat, there's a quality of stillness and enchantment to this CD that many listeners will find irresistible.

Each player has a contribution to make. The plaintive tones of Tatiana Lanchtchikova's accordion set the scene for the track Shimmering Stillness, complete with the alluring, fairy clatter of key noise; the smooth sweeps of Nigel Gavin's guitar and spiky rhythms of Peter Scott's bass have a similar role for the later Resolution.

There are hints of the tango palace here and there, reminding us that Besser is a dab hand at Argentina's favourite dance. The winding counterpoints of Miranda Adams' violin and Lanchtchikova's accordion in the title track remind me of the great Piazzolla's fondness for a touch of fugue.

Five New York Tone Rows 2003 are nervy, pithy statements on blurred piano and look back to Besser's past as a sonic explorer, as do the insect-like flutterings of Mitzvah Round until they are swept away into a klezmer toetapper.

The most ambitious track, Gamjam IV, is a dark, mysterious 11 1/2 minutes - a soundtrack for a movie yet to be made, perhaps. Its inspiration springs from Adams' sonorous Indonesian gamelan, with producer Garden creating some of those noir soundscapes that he's known for on other Rattle recordings.

You have the chance to hear Bravura on Saturday at noon in the Auckland Art Gallery, playing their music at the album's launch.

* Besser and Bravura, Turn (Rattle RAT D 013)