"[an] album most any jazz fan can slap on and dig... His trio with bassist Gunnar Biggs and drummer Duncan Moore can do it all, but first of all they want you to know they swing -- Sonny Rollins-style or with a taste of that old downtown blues. Hold on, though -- they’re taking off around the world with bass-riff-centered numbers from Africa and the Near East, and offering a taste of New Orleans to wrap things up. The open trio format makes the geography-jumping easy, just three guys out for a groove. And when they pay a couple of visits to Ornette along the way, you begin to understand that, hey, he’s part of the world tradition, too. All three sound like they’re having a blast, and with Borgo working two saxes and two flutes, it never gets samey. No kidding, 'Initial Conditions' will spend more time in your deck than any Wynton Marsalis record -- or even anything Sonny Rollins has done in about 40 years. It’s got the feel." – Greg Burk (LA Weekly and LA Times contributor) http://www.metaljazz.com/2008/02/dvdcd_review_david_borgo.php David Borgo is a saxophonist, ethnomusicologist, and Associate Professor of Music at UC San Diego. Borgo won first prize at the International John Coltrane Festival (1994) and he has performed throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. He has released five CDs and a DVD and his book, Sync or Swarm: Improvising Music in a Complex Age won the Alan Merriam Prize in 2006 from the Society for Ethnomusicology for the most distinguished book published during the previous year. Borgo counts David Liebman, Kenny Burrell, and the late Billy Higgins among his primary mentors. Duncan Moore is one of the most creative and in-demand drummers in Southern California. In addition to his consummate studio and live work in the area, Duncan has performed with an impressive range of national and international stars, from Art Pepper to John Pattitucci, from Ray Brown to Rickie Lee Jones. Bassist Gunnar Biggs has played with numerous internationally known jazz artists, including Buddy Rich, Mose Allison, Charles McPherson, Thad Jones and Tommy Flanagan. He has been on faculty at several San Diego Colleges and Universities and has established himself for the past thirty years as an indispensable fixture on the San Diego jazz, classical, and world music scenes. “Borgo has the history of the music down pat; his tunes offer a flavoring of post-bop structure, but he steers the bands unerringly into the current era through his gliding improvising style and tune construction.... He touches on the past, teases with the future, but mainly speaks in the present tense.” -Frank Rubolino, All About Jazz “Borgo's wild flight over the jouncing rhythm team is fresh and sometimes even dryly laconic... and the original melodies are knotty and memorable. Mr. Borgo and band are looking for a new combination of the elements of 'free' and 'hard bop'... worth a listen for anybody wanting to hear the beginnings of a new approach.” -Kenneth Egbert, Jazz Now “On soprano Borgo weaves delicate patterns across the music, while on other tracks he sets a classic big-hearted tenor sound in dialogue with avantgarde spikiness.” -Nate Doward, Coda "Well-worth checking out." -Scott Yanow, All Music Guide