The Revolutionary Ensemble were a fascinatingly anomalous group within the free jazz scene. The trio of violinist Leroy Jenkins, bassist Sirone, and drummer Jerome Cooper made music that had the stark, intellectual rigorousness of modern classical, blended with the raw energy of hillbilly fiddling and the ferocity of avant-garde jazz. Vietnam, a single extended performance split into two parts, was their debut album, originally released in the early 1970s.

The interaction between Jenkins and Sirone is extremely intense. The bassist’s tone is huge, often blowing out into distortion as he strikes the strings with seismic force. Meanwhile, the violin shifts back and forth between high-speed, gypsy-hillbilly sawing and slow, mournful passages. Cooper’s drumming is more accent than engine, occasionally intruding on the violin-bass dialogue but mostly letting the other two men do their thing and interjecting a snare roll or quick flicker of the cymbals from the background. It’s not until the beginning of the album’s second half that he erupts, kicking things off with a five-minute drum solo that wipes away everything that came before.