Reed player CARL SMITH has been a mainstay on the Austin, Texas, improv scene since the mid ’90s running a revolving trio under the moniker ECFA. Their newest release Der Wald (ECFA 2007) features Smith along with soprano sax player Holland Hopson and drummer J. Friedrich for a series of Smith’s compositions along with a few free improvisations and a reading of Steve Lacy’s "The Retreat". (Aspects of the Dream / Ergeben / Friedrichsfelde [free improvisation] / Kleine Widerhallen / Wuhletal / Adlershof / Schygullplatz / The Retreat / Kleine Tanz. 38:04, Austin, TX, no date.) Sticking to tenor, soprano, and drums line-up brings a focus to the session. Smith and Hopson are both linear players with an angular sense of Free melodicism. Friedrich’s tuned kit fills out the bottom end with a spare approach that places rolling toms, or splashed cymbals against the snaking reed lines. The compact improvisations balance spontaneous freedom with a sense of controlled collective form, utilizing Smith’s sinuous themes to frame the pieces. Soprano player Alex Coke sits in for Hopson on "The Retreat" and the trio absorbs Lacy’s theme and pushes it to a plaintive intensity. -Michael Rosenstein, Cadence Jazz Magazine, August 2008