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Chicago artists did more than hold their own
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Chicago Tribune, Chicago artists did more than hold their own >>
-by Howard Reich
Though 2006 produced great jazz recordings in every genre imaginable, at least one trend was unmistakable: Chicago artists excelled.
Singer-pianist Patricia Barber scoffed at traditional musical and literary boundaries in "Mythologies"; pianist-composer Reginald Robinson penned visionary ragtime compositions; guitarist-composer John Moulder led his band on a daring exploration of the divine.
Add to the list work of New York piano innovator Jason Moran, Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, and jazz more than ever has become an international language.
Following are the best jazz recordings of 2006:
7. Dave Holland Quintet: "Critical Mass" (Dare 2 Records)
Is there a better, more acutely balanced, technically accomplished, musically adventurous quintet in mainstream jazz than Holland's? Of course not. With Chris Potter producing searing solos on tenor and soprano saxophones, Steve Nelson chiming in with piquant chords on vibraphone and marimba, Robin Eubanks improvising lustily on trombone, and Nate Smith providing effective baekbeats for all occasions, bassist Holland hardly could be in better company. Because Holland prefers to function within the ensemble sound--rather than stand apart from it, as might befit a player of his stature--the band functions as a single, dynamic organism.
12/10/06
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