" data-original-title="" title="">Tim Hagans and Germany's superlative NDR Big Band, is really five conversations- -that is, a five-movement concerto composed, arranged and conducted by Hagans who also solos on Movements III, IV and V. Hagans and the band are more than strangers in the night—he has collaborated with NDR for two decades as guest composer, conductor, arranger and soloist. To underscore his purpose, Hagans has grouped the band members not in sections, as is usually done, but in four ensembles of four to five chairs based on "sonic and emotional properties." Brass and winds reside in three of the groups, the rhythm section in the fourth.

Although Hagans must have had his theoretical reasons for that, in practice it sounds like a standard big-band structure with sections seated in their usual places. Perhaps if this were a DVD instead of CD the configuration would be apparent; as it is, the grouping warrants no more than a parenthetical notice. And no matter where anyone is seated, it is the music that should be examined and appraised. Cutting to the chase, Hagans composes for the enlightened ear; this is for the most part music of an exploratory nature, anchored in the jazz idiom but generally lacking the sort of earnestness and spontaneity that are its customary hallmarks. An exception is "Movement III," wherein the rhythms are more vibrant and the solos—by Hagans, trumpeter