7. Dave Holland Quintet, "Critical Mass" (Dare2).

It seems as though these guys find their way onto my list almost every year they release a recording. True, it's been five years since the quintet put out a disc with new material and they've since replaced the redoubtable drummer Billy Kilson with Nate Smith. So they can't be that good that consistently, can they? Well, yes they can. No matter what the tempo (and tempo can be very slippery creature in Dave Holland combo) or how knotty the harmonies, Holland, Smith, saxophonist Chris Potter, trombonist Robin Eubanks and vibra- phonist Steve Nelson pool their eclectic gifts into multi-layered force of nature.