Praising Hallucination Engine as a postmodern Bitches Brew may seem mad, but Material bassist-composerguru Bill Laswell risks a maneuver akin to the one Miles Davis pulled off with his 1969 trailblazer: fusing disparate sounds into one groovy om of exhilaration and release. For sonic gorgeousness, funky trance states and technical bravado, this bid is the boldest. The players – including saxophonist Wayne Shorter, bassist Bootsy Collins, drummer Sly Dunbar and violinist Shankar – on extended flights such as "Mantra" and a reworking of Weather Report's "Cucumber Slumber" swirl, churn and percolate, achieving the still point in a turning world. (RS 677)

PAUL EVANS