This project must have looked good on paper. Start with D.D. Jackson, a pianist and organist of almost unbounded potential; put him with the African bass-guitar phenom Richard Bona and the peerless drummer Jack DeJohnette; then add critically acclaimed saxophonist James Carter and veteran percussionist Minu Cinelu for spice on selected tracks. Too bad the lineup couldn"t have left off there. But Jackson--who produced the album--also brought in violinist-guitarist Christian Howes, whose plugged-in wailing has all the charm of a car alarm going off at 3 a.m. The result is a schizophrenic mess, as Jackson"s major-key arpeggios (think early ECM and New Age wedding marches) open up into frantic free-for-alls dominated by Howes and, less often, Carter. Bona gets off a couple of brilliant bass solos, but his wordless vocal on "Simple Song" is an oddity even on an album consisting of non sequiturs. --Rick Mitchell