Mats Gustafsson, Barry Guy, Paul Lovens

*2023 stock* "Swedish multi-reed artist Mats Gustafsson was just beginning to come into his own at the time of this recording. The oddly titled Mouth Eating Trees and Related Activities catches him at the cusp when his prodigious technical abilities were starting to be subsumed into an impressive musical presence. It doesn't hurt that his companions for this freely improvised session are stalwarts like Barry Guy and Paul Lovens, who provide accompaniment that's creatively telepathic. While Gustafsson's sound is distinct, particularly his use of breathy and vocal sounds, there are still moments when he hurtles into his own sonic investigations with seemingly little regard to his fellow musicians. This tendency would happily lessen in ensuing years, but listeners used to a more collective approach might be somewhat put off by these occasional grandstanding gestures. Still, one is tempted to shrug off these incidents as youthful exuberance and appreciate the volcanic talent behind the bravado. Those who have only heard him in the more structured contexts of the AALY Trio or the Peter Brötzmann Tentet owe it to themselves to hear his more purely improv side, and this generally enjoyable session is a decent place to start." - All music