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CD Review
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New York Times, CD Review >>
DAVE HOLLAND
Critical Mass
(Dare2/Sunnyside)
Intellect and physicality have always been close partners in the music of Dave Holland. As a bassist he combines a bruising tone with smartly nimble execution; he doesn’t make it seem easy, but good, and right. He accomplishes much the same balance in his compositions, and with his signature band.
Critical Mass is the Dave Holland Quintet's first studio album in five years, though it doesn't feel that long. Mr. Holland has kept the group visible, not only on tour but also as the nucleus for his dynamic big band. And not much has changed about its basic sound or style.
Mr. Holland still writes for a frontline of Chris Potter on tenor and soprano saxophones and Robin Eubanks on trombone, often entangling them in serpentine counterpoint. Steve Nelson still provides the only harmonic accompaniment, sparingly, on vibraphone. Mr. Holland lays down his usual concrete foundation, against which a drummer can either abrade or glide. (There's a different drummer now, Nate Smith, but his propulsive style adheres to the established model.)
As on past albums, the ensemble favors funk over swing and features tunes by each of its members. And it once again manages to pair combustion with containment, so that even when things heat up as they often do, most vividly on Full Circle, by Mr. Eubanks there's still control.
But the title still works: critical mass is the point at which this band resides. There are many examples on the album, none better than the squalling climax of Mr. Nelson's Amator Silenti, the album's closing track. It's a moment all the more impressive for what has preceded it: more than an hour of heightened performance of the sort that gives reliability a good name. 09/04/06 >> go there
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