Bill Bruford once told me in an interview during his last tour with Yes (for the album Union) that chamber or group free improvisation has been a tradition and joy among classically trained European musicians, and that formally scheduled open jam sessions were widely in practice during the time of "J.S. Bach" and likely long before. As jazz and rock forms in music derived from a blending of European and African musical traditions and elements—free and open improvisation from the very beginning provided a means for musicians to communicate on multiple levels simultaneously, in the absence of spoken queues or any pre-determined forms. Project Z to my ears embodies a milestone among recorded sessions of free improvisation, and in an electric setting picks up where some of the great “free" recordings of the 60s and 70s by the likes of Cecil Taylor, John Coltrane, and Anthony Braxton left off.
