Open Question Vol. 1 is the first of two albums that rely on stellar, warm, collective, and freely improvised music. It features tenor saxophonist Ayumi Ishito, pianist Eric Plaks, bassist Zach Swanson, drummer Jon Panikkar, and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter. According to the press release, Open Question’s music today, while fully improvised, remains firmly rooted in the jazz tradition. This is best heard on “Synchronicity,” the last recorded piece of the session, where each musician’s trajectory diverges even as the piece holds together. On the track, Carter starts out with soprano sax then later switches to tenor toward the middle of the piece, as Carter and Ishito playfully spar with competing tenor melodies. This album marks Ayumi Ishito’s second album on 577 Records, following her widely-acclaimed Ayumi Ishito & the Spacemen Vol. 1 (2021).

Listen below.