Featuring the great Montréal-based trombonist Tom Walsh with two different quartets at two live sets in Montréal and Toronto from 2002. The Cote Cour quartet features Guy Kaye on electric guitar, Alan Baculis on el. bass and Francois Chauvette on drums, while the Cote Jardin unit features Rainer Wiens on el. guitar, Norman Guilbeault on contrabass and Pierre Tanguay on drums, with Walsh on trombone and sampler. While I am unfamiliar with all members of the first quartet, the Jardin unit includes both Norman and Pierre, whom I’ve caught up at the Victo fest on more than one occasion. The Cour Qt. features some fine intricate and haunting playing with Guy’s ghost-like spidery guitar, the rhythm moving together in waves, ebbing to and fro. There are some eerie samples floating through the mix and at times it difficult to tell who is doing what since it could me some modified guitar or trombone. This is a well balanced blend of progressive and jazz/rock tendencies, hard to predict which direction will surface next. Each player is utilized to their fullest as many of these pieces shift between a variety of complex schemes. It will probably take a while to enjoy all of this, since there is so many unexpected twists and turns. Most impressive.