Pete McCann is one of several jazz guitarists reaching critical acclaim and creative high points in the 1990s. His style incorporates elements of the Sonny Sharrock and James "Blood" Ulmer electric avant-garde but also a heap of influences traceable to guitarists as distinct as Jim Hall and Bill Frisell. McCann eases between quiet-to-soaring dynamic levels as surely as he rips into scrambly, distortion-tinged outbursts. His band is topnotch all the way, with drummer Matt Wilson giving the rhythms a sometimes hard pound and a sometimes slight prance the way Ed Blackwell did for Ornette Coleman"s music. The subdued moments that show the guitarist"s grace are here, especially on the opening to "Gone." But so too are the leaping free-bop excursions, which McCann seems expert at uncorking and letting pour. Based on this debut recording, Pete McCann"s guitar is in full bloom and shows little sign of flagging. --Andrew Bartlett