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CD Review
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Sunday Star Ledger, CD Review >>
Critical Mass
Dave Holland Quintet
(Dare2)
Bassist and composer Holland leads one of the most engaging of contemporary modem jazz ensembles, as proved again by this fine new recording. The music is all original compositions by the bassist or his bandmates; trombonist Robin Eubanks, tenor saxophonist Chris Potter, vibist Steve Nelson and drummer Mate Smith. These songs mostly have some kind of spiffy groove; they're rhythmically charged even if they're slow, but there's always an openness, too, room for free-ranging expression. Nelson's "Amator Silenti" covers lot of ground. It starts with tender, unaccompanied vibes, with the others added in little by little. Soon it's a free-form, five-man gallop, then somber again, but songlike. Holland's "Easy Did It" is the leader's take on , forward-leaning, ambles-along funk. Eubanks delivers fat-toned, meaty ideas, followed by Nelson's organic-sounding marimba, with his mix of finger-popping lines and those more oblique. Potter's gutsy-to- wailing tenor sound and his remarkable ability to range over his instrument with complete abandon and stunning invention are stand outs on his 'Vicissitudes." Holland's evocative "Secret Garden;' has a North African flavor that brings forth desert caravan images. His bass its round, firm tone centering each is show cased here, with crisply articulated, beguiling packages of notes moving in unusual ways.
- Zan Stewart 09/17/06
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