1994 release ** "Zeitgeist is an oddly comprised quartet with two percussionists, a keyboardist, and a woodwind player. Here, they perform four pieces by Frederic Rzewski written between 1984 and 1993, works rather different in character than the neo-romantic piano pieces for which he's better known. "Wails" derives influence from Greek theater, particularly Aeschylus, employing steel drums, sopranino saxophone, and bass clarinet in a very dance-like piece full of reedy twirls and light rhythms. Toward the end, it coalesces into a full-fledged Hellenic party -- a lot of fun. For "Spots," the musicians are presented with 13 one-minute pieces, playable in any order, with any instruments. This results in a somewhat ragtag collection as might be expected or perhaps even desired by Rzewski, but the miniatures are often charming (even jazzy) enough on their own to cause the listener to ignore the lack of overall effect. Next up is a sally into avant-klezmer, where Rzewski does to traditional Yiddish melodies what he had previously done to folk and work songs: run them through a complex set of variations while always respecting the original form. The piece stands quite nicely alongside much of the work done in a similar area by members of the downtown New York scene (John Zorn, Anthony Coleman, etc.) in ensuing years. "Crusoe" takes the method employed in "Spots" and raises the stakes: 65 15-second-long movements using vocal recitations of Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year (shouted, whispered, moaned, and more) along with musical accompaniment. If it ends up more fragmentary and only momentarily enjoyable, that may be a little of what Rzewski was going for, as his liner notes get into ideas revolving around the difficulty and wonder of communication. All in all, this is an unusual example of his small-group writing and contains enough of value and beauty to recommend it, especially to existing Rzewski fans."