Following up on their acclaimed THRILL JOCKEY 2004 CD 'Back Together Again', FRED ANDERSON and Hamid Drake set out to show jus t how much they'd grown, how beautifully their work together has evolved. Drafting an all-star band consisting of fellow-Chicagoans (including TORTOISE's JEFF PARKER), the twosome entered JOHN MCENTIRE's Soma Studios and proceeded to record their most relaxed, perfectly balanced date yet. In a discography that has gone from a handful of rare LPs fifteen years ago to a staggering number of discs on various labels today, it may seem hyperbolic to call 'From the River to the Ocean' Fred Anderson's greatest album yet, but the empathy and cohesiveness of the ensemble, coupled with the saxophonist's brilliant, searching improvisations, makes it a ringer.