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CD Review
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St. Paul Pioneer Press, CD Review >>
Bassist's quintet is fine, as usual
"Critical Mass," Dave Holland,
Dare2/Sunnyside ***1/2
"Critical Mass" is the Dave Holland Quintet's first studio album in five years, though it doesn't feel that long. 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.
As on past albums, the ensemble favors funk over swing and features tunes by each of its members (Holland on bass, Chris Potter on tenor and soprano saxophones, Robin Eubanks on trombone, Steve Nelson on vibraphone and Nate Smith on drums). 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 Eubanks there's still control.
But the title still works: Critical mass is the point at which this band resides. There's no better example than the squalling climax of 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.
-Nate Chinen
09/26/06
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