Daniel Levin is “a samurai with a calligrapher’s brush in his hand instead of a sword,” writes Ed Hazell in his liner notes for Inner Landscape. It couldn’t be truer: this is improvised music with force and grace in equal measure. The music on Inner Landscape reveals myriad dimensions in a split-second; some are undoubtedly idiomatic, namely jazzy or proto-classical; others are totally unclassifiable. The result is transcendent and uplifting, a singularly unique and personal statement. On his trio and quartet records, Levin has already shown that he is one of the most important and original voices on the cello. What we have here on his first solo record is further confirmation of that status. Considering that this complete musician is also a talented composer, the path taken of free improvisation, with no discernable safety net, resulted in a personal challenge. The truth is he improvises “compositionally,” a not very common talent. “Spontaneity” and “formal complexity” aren’t usually associated with one another, but Levin has the rare ability to combine the two, so a whole world opens up to our ears. Inner Landscape will certainly be considered a referential album in years to come. What we have here is an historical edition.