Ben: 'The Holy La' is a relaxed trio date with Jean-Jacques Avenel and John Betsch, with a couple of vocal tracks featuring Irene Aebi. Nothing earth-shattering, just an authoritatively swinging session with Monk's "Shuffle Boil" and eight originals, many previously recorded in other formats. The track with Avenel on sanza is especially appealing. Overall, the disc is much like the same trio's 'Bye-Ya' on the same label, and more concise than the fine live 2CD 'The Rent' on Cavity Search. The new solo disc is pretty terrific - Lacy manages to do the solo sax thing more convincingly than just about anyone, and he thoroughly characterizes and in some cases recontextualizes the Ellington tunes. The originals are more familiar territory. Mandatory purchase for Zornlist Lacy fans, since it's a limited edition and Patrice Roussel was one of the "executive producers" who made it happen (Lacy's new label is funded by volunteer underwriters!). None of the discs in the Rzewski box is particularly short except for 'De Profundis,' which is indeed about 32 minutes long. Some other pieces, however (the Sonata in particular), are taken at a much broader pace, yet nothing feels lugubrious or labored about it. Given the rather low price of the box, this all seems kosher, and people who know Rzewski's previous recordings better than I do have said that these renditions are all superior. Steve Smith ssmith36@sprynet.com NP - Kaffe Matthews, Andrea Neumann & Sachiko M, "track 1," 'In Case of Fire, Take the Stairs' (Improvised Music from Japan)