Lentz: Los Tigres de Marte - EP

Surfacing only infrequently on disc since the heyday of minimalism in the 1980s, Daniel Lentz contributed this lush, beautiful, mostly electronic tone poem to Cold Blue Music's enterprising CD-single series in 2004. Opening with a sheen of pitch-drifting electronic sound, the 15-minute piece soon becomes an elegy for Marty Walker's sometimes arpeggiated clarinet and a mixture of acoustic and electronic strings, simulated chimes, and other digitally-created sounds. Except for a minute-long outburst of Lentz's more typical motor rhythms mid-way through the piece, all is peaceful and highly romantic in mood and texture, with only a hint of unease in the harmonies. Though perhaps intended as ambient music, Lentz's piece offers more for the attentive listener than most in this genre. ~ Richard S. Ginell, Rovi