Italy's Enten Eller quartet is known for intertwining free jazz dialogue with hard boppish swing motifs and jazz-rock-style pyrotechnics amid late-'90s early-'00s collaborations with American saxophonist/modernist Tim Berne. Recorded live in Saint Vincent, Italy, this 1998 release features trumpeter Alberto Mandarini and electric guitarist Maurizio Brunod navigating the band through a series of feisty performances rooted upon abstract grooves, hard-edged swing, ostinato motifs, and electrified exchanges, along with a few memorably melodic themes tossed into the mix for good measure. Here, Enten Eller abides by an altogether fervent work ethic, as the band frequently goes for the jugular amid Brunod's Hendrix-like musings and Mandarini's bold, brassy tone and blazing 16th notes. Moreover, the musicians often generate climactically suspenseful opuses, awash with loads of impact and the artists' notable resourcefulness, although they occasionally veer off course largely due to a fair amount of doodling and tinkering. However, the group furnishes an in-depth deconstruction of Ornette Coleman's "Round Trip" to coincide with a series of loosely based themes and heated improvisational excursions, despite a few loose ends here and there. ~ Glenn Astarita