By Edward Ortiz - Bee Arts Critic
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CD release: Strange Imaginary Animals
Eighth Blackbird / Cedille / 3 1/2 stars

Ensembles that play 21st century music calling for novel musical approaches such as detuned instruments and toy pianos seem to be the rage these days.

That trend poses two questions: Is it good music? Will it hold up over time?

Only history can answer the latter. For the former, the answer is highly dependent on how stunningly it is interpreted and delivered. Meeting that challenge is no stretch for the Chicago-based ensemble Eighth Blackbird. The 10-year-old group is the darling of critics east to west, and rightly so. Its members are fearless, unafraid to step into the musical unknown of a composer's brain to mine for that elusive pot of musical gold.

There is some brilliant new and compelling music on "Strange." And Eighth Blackbird proves a worthy conduit throughout. That is certainly evident in Jennifer Higdon's "Zaka," an energetic and tightly focused work that uses string instruments in percussive and unorthodox ways. It's sophisticated writing and playing of the first order.

Other works are bolder, more aggressive and tactile, like the expansive but decidedly repetitive "Friction System" by David Gordon. Some are dark and mischievous works like Gordon Fitzell's "Evanescence," which sounds like chamber music borne from some planetary landscape far removed from ours.

Did I mention that these guys are fearless?

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