Jiří Stivín
Alchymia Musicæ
1995 release ** "Prague saxophonist and composer Jirí Stivín had a grand vision working when he assembled the elements for this recording. His intention was to take the great madrigals and villanelles from the 16th century in his own culture, and add a string quartet and a choir to his own jazz trio and try to bridge the span of centuries. Not only this, of course, but to do so with the mischievous grin of the '60s free jazz continuum that preferred improvisation to taking a shower most of the t…