Reed Wallsmith has shaped the Blue Cranes into a fascinating jazzstrumental band that uses a two-reed front line to essay all sorts of provocative tunes. On Observatories (Blue Cranes) the group balances gorgeous melodies with experimental extrapolations. Some pieces sound like a forlorn Ornette Coleman ballads; some sound like muscular Philip Glass explosions. Lots of their stuff is cinematic; I can see “These Are My People” working well behind a bravura scene in a bull ring. Waxing vivid at every turn, Wallsmith and company tilt toward the high water marks made by such bands as Curlew and the Muffins.