The appearance by trombonist Paul Rutherford Wednesday evening at the UCSD Mandeville Recital Hall was especially welcome. Rutherford was one of the first free improvisers in England, forming the Spontaneous Music Ensemble with John Stevens and Trevor Watts in 1965. When most of the free improv crowd in San Diego were barely able to shake their baby rattles, Paul Rutherford and his contemporaries were bewildering or delighting European listeners. They made music that did not rely on existing compositions, that went so far as to avoid traditional harmonies, rhythms, exploring their instruments to incorporate any and all sounds into their music.

Rutherford rarely visits the U.S., and when he does, it's usually not the Southwest. Rutherford may not have the following of the late influential improviser Derek Bailey or the visionary saxophonist Peter Br�tzmann, but dammit, he was there at the beginning of the European improv scene, he's made almost 100 recordings since, and he's still out there playing rings around the youngsters.

He was joined for this gig by bassist Torsten M�ller (a generation younger than Rutherford), and by L.A. drummer Harris Eisenstadt (a generation younger than M�ller). You might expect Rutherford to step up to the front of this trio, but just as often Eisenstadt or M�ller would be the focus of your attention, and throughout the evening all three musicians collaborated in creating unified textures in which noone really stood out. At such moments the trio achieved that elusive goal of many free improvisers, a true musical collective.