For a contemporary jazz guitar album, Misja Fitzgerald Michel"s Encounter has unusual variety going for it. A native of the Netherlands who lives in France, he performs a solo acoustic version of Ornette Coleman"s haunting "Lonely Woman" in a demonstrative Spanish style, goes electric with bassist Drew Gress and drummer Jochen Rueckert to mine the cerebral funk of Bill Stewart"s "Think Before You Think" and adds on tenor saxophonist Ravi Coltrane to scurry knottily through Wayne Shorter"s "Limbo." As he also shows with his acoustic romp through the changes of John Coltrane"s "Countdown," Michel has world-class speed to burn. He also has admirable technique, emulating the great Jim Hall on the moderately paced tunes with his lightweight tone and quiet control. His spare and lovely "Another World" to the contrary, his own compositions tend to be more predictable. But Michel"s unwillingness to indulge in formula lifts the proceedings even as his exceptional rhythm mates provide the deep, assertive tones to anchor them. --Lloyd Sachs