Satisfaction John Tchicai/Vitold Rek (Enja) Some people like keeping up with the careers of former student activists; I like following the efforts of those musicians associated with the so-called "avant-garde" movement, a good deal of whom know more about Ben Webster and Bunk Johnson that smart- asses like Stanley Crouch want you to believe. African-Danish saxophonist Tchicai is probably best remembered for his work on Coltrane's Ascension, but as this collection indicates, he hasn't spent the past 30 years playing standards. Satisfaction is notable for the piping warmth so consistently present in Tchicai's soprano, tenor sax, and bass clarinet, and for Rek's support, solo work, and compositions, many of which point to his former stint as a jazz-rocker yet translate marvelously to the august throbbings of the acoustic bass. Tchicai's titles include the heartbreakingly lyrical "Berlin Ballad" (the first five notes of which recall Ellington's yearning "In a Sentimental Mood"), "The Prayer," whose solemn Danish recitation needs no translation, and the title track (dedicated to Lester Young) whose accompanying poem concludes, "Clear tones and different keys tear the paper. The souls must be yoked at night."