Back in 1995 Mike Mainieri put out American Diary, a program of works by Leonard Bernstein, Frank Zappa, Aaron Copland, Roger Sessions, Samuel Barber and William Grant Still.

The album closed on a note of pure inspiration with an original piece on which mallet percussionist Mike Mainieri, saxophonist and clarinetist Joe Lovano, bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Peter Erskine perfectly captured the spirit of Charles Ives's unfinished "Universe Symphony."

Now we have Sideshow and CRI's adventurous BlueShift imprint to thank for an equally successful project devoted in its entirety to the universe of Ives.

Employing similar instrumentation, vibraphonist Matt Moran, guitarist Adam Good, saxophonist and clarinetist Oscar Noriega and percussionist John Hollenbeck tackle ten selections from 114 Songs, a 1922 collection of completed pieces and works-in-progress printed by Charles Ives at his own expense in an effort to generate interest in his work within the American musical community.

In moving restlessly from deep melancholia to outright goofiness and back again, Songs of Charles Ives captures the essence of a true visionary's most memorable and most American work.