It is hard to think of a quintet with more pure talent. In 2022, the American pianist Myra Melford surrounded herself with improvisers Mary Halvorson, Susie Ibarra (replaced here by Lesley Mok), Ingrid Laubrock and Tomeka Reid to create the amazing Fire and Water Quintet, one of those cases where the sum of the names raises the bar to a level that the music succeeds in living up to. Having performed for the first time at a Melford residence at The Stone, the group was given such an extraordinary reception that it was “obliged” to continue, eventually recording an album that catches the amazing sound of these five musicians on the RogueArt label. The vague clues proposed by the pianist’s compositions are inspired by the work of painter Cy Twombly, a fundamental exponent of gestural impulse.