A chattery, free-bop fanfare blasts open Jumpin' In, the clarion call that introduced bassist Dave Holland's newly formed quintet in 1984. It's the kind of album opening that's unabashedly frank and as optimistic as it is creative. After having served as one of Miles Davis's key coconspirators in Davis's late-1960s fusion land grab, Holland had ventured into the freer woods with his own stellar Conference of the Birds and solo-bass Emerald Tears. The early- to mid-1980s were right for his new band. It featured a young Steve Coleman and his clip-toned alto sax, Canadian-born trumpeter Kenny Wheeler and his insatiable appetite for great tonal heights and creative bends, trombonist Julian Priester, and drummer Steve Ellington. Together, the band romped through the title track and "New-One," made the gently sweet "First Snow" and "Sunrise," created a rumbling mountain climb on "The Dragon and the Samurai," and toned down their rip current only slightly for the album-closing "You I Love." This was an auspicious debut of Holland's new group-oriented directions, and he's kept killer quintets coming ever since. --Andrew Bartlett
Jumpin in,Dave Holland,Ecm Records,Jazz,Pop
Jazz Music:
- Just Live to Tell the Tale [Import]
- Kenny Burrel & John Coltrane [Original recording remastered] [Import]
- Larry & Lee
- Love Songs [Import]
- Mellow Guitars [Import]
- Miles Davis
- Milestones [Import]
- Moonlight Serenade
- More Smiles [Import] [Original recording remastered]
- Move!
Jazz Music
Brand New Day (Hybr) (Ms) [Hybrid SACD]
Music: Francisco Guerrero: Motecta