Desert Marauders

by Michael G. Nastos For Rubisa Patrol's second and final ECM album, pianist Art Lande and trumpeter/flugelhornist Mark Isham were joined again by bassist/flutist Bill Douglass and new member drummer Kurt Wortman. The music is not as vital as on their debut disc, but more refined and thoughtful. A bit more fire might have identified this group as a contender, as the extended title track suggests, but after folding, Lande recorded children's stories for the Windham Hill label, then retreated to the Colorado mountains. Isham headed for L.A. and went on to a lucrative career writing music for movies. This is solid, contemporary improvisational music, a touch laidback, and makes one wish this ensemble would have carried on. They were special.