Ast is the third release from Pachora, continuing their exploration of modal, ethnic flavored jazz. The rhythms and melodies are based in the music of Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean basin, blended with the downtown flair of improvisation. For this recording Brad Shepik has abandoned the guitar in favor of the electric saz (a Turkish lute with paired sets of strings similar to a bouzouki). Shepik and Chris Speed, on clarinet, are the main soloists, although the rhythm section also receives some space. Jim Black is consistently one of the most interesting and intuitive drummers on the scene today. Bassist Skulli Sverisson is as agile as anyone on the electric bass and, together with Black, provides a solid backdrop for Shepik and Speed's improvisitory flights of fancy. Chris Speed is dazzling on the clarinet, as he floats and dances above the rhythm section, and Shepik's saz has a lush, understated beauty. The apparent ease with which Pachora performs intricate unison melodies and odd time signatures is a testament to each individual's instrumental prowess, as well as to several years of performing as a unit. The tunes are almost all original compositions, as opposed to the mixture of originals and traditional pieces of their previous two releases. The cover of David Bowie's "Man Who Sold the World" is not nearly as out of place as it might seem at first glance and drives home the point that while Pachora is grounded in the traditional dance music of the eastern Mediterranean, they exist and perform as part of the genre-defying downtown aesthetic.