Curtis Clark's Nimbus debut - and he brings the whole Los Angeles underground with him. Miranda and Theus: the rhythm section that powered Horace Tapscott's Arkestra, that held the floor at UGMAA meetings, that knew how to make a piano trio sound like a congregation. This is the connection - Chicago kid studies with Tapscott, absorbs the lesson, makes his first record with the master's own people. Side A: "Phantasmagoria" - one long piece, the title track eating up the whole side. Side B: "Bouquet," "Missing Persons," "Thought of One" - shorter statements, but no less focused. Clark plays clarinet too. Not many know that. On a piano trio record, that's a statement - he's not just a pianist, he's a composer thinking in colors. The trio format gives him space. Miranda and Theus give him roots. January 1984, Los Angeles. An overlooked artist making an entrance nobody noticed until now. In memory of Jeff Reynolds, Harry Miller, Joep Maessen.

Curtis Clark (piano, clarinet), Roberto Miranda (bass), Sonship Theus (drums). Recorded Los Angeles, January 1984. All compositions by Clark.