Jazz Articles about Robin Eubanks

Robin Eubanks & EB3: Live Vol. 1

by John Kelman
June 16, 2007

While ongoing developments in the area of technology have made it possible for artists to create a big band sound on a small band budget, you'd be hard pressed to find a group integrating it as seamlessly and interactively as trombonist Robin Eubanks' EB3 on Live Vol. 1. Thankfully Eubanks, rather than leaving listeners scratching their heads wondering who is doing what, has included a DVD that lets you watch five of the CD's nine performances. After seeing the footage, ...

Dave Holland: Critical Mass

by AAJ Italy Staff
January 22, 2007

Questo ottimo album del bassista Dave Holland incarna l’idea di classicità moderna. Ascoltandolo se ne ricava immediatamente la sensazione che sia un lavoro che si pone in una posizione ‘centrale’ nel panorama jazzistico dei giorni nostri. Una sorta di raffinata costruzione architettonica attorno alla quale ruota la musica stessa di Dave Holland, un bassista che non si è fatto mancare in passato i brividi delle avanguardie anche più estreme e che strada facendo ha deciso di ‘rientrare’ in gruppo. Senza ...

Dave Holland Quintet: Critical Mass

by Joel Roberts
December 5, 2006

Bassist extraordinaire Dave Holland believes that like fine wine, music shouldn't be unbottled before its time. Holland and his highly regarded quintet spent a year and a half honing and retooling the music on their new album until it reached the point he calls “critical mass, where “it has become what it's going to be. That patience, care and commitment to getting things right is evident throughout Critical Mass. This is the work of a working band, ...

Bill Bruford / Tim Garland: Earthworks Underground Orchestra

by Sean Patrick Fitzell
December 4, 2006

Bill Bruford forged his reputation as a relentless pioneer striving to advance the art of percussion. Using odd times and improvisation in rock or exploring with electronic drums, he sought to challenge both his self-expression and the drummer's role. Since 1986, his primary outlet as a composer and bandleader has been Earthworks. What began as an electro-acoustic quartet has become strictly acoustic, bringing him back to his early love: jazz. To celebrate this twenty-year anniversary, Bruford and ...

Chip White: Harlem Sunset

by Nic Jones
September 9, 2006

Chip White has a hell of a band here, but the fact that he provided it with almost an entire programme of stimulating material is what makes this a disc worth frequently returning to. Additionally, the quartet of White, Gary Bartz, Steve Nelson and Buster Williams offers such a captivating reading of “I Want To Talk About You" that the overall effect is one of enduring pleasure, and that's only enhanced by the presence of Claudio Roditi's “We (To Kristen ...

Dave Holland Quintet: Critical Mass

by Nic Jones
September 4, 2006

This particular lineup of Dave Holland's longstanding quintet had apparently been working for eighteen months prior to recording this disc, and that simple fact oozes out of every note played. There is a level of cohesion and empathy here that arguably can come only from such longstanding associations.

Holland is anything but despotic in his leadership responsibilities, and every member of the group gets a composer's credit here. The result is a diversity of approaches that makes for rewarding listening, ...

Dave Holland Quintet: Critical Mass

by John Kelman
August 23, 2006

It's been five years since the last studio record by Dave Holland's quintet. But between touring on its own and as the core of Holland's big band, which was responsible for the outstanding Overtime (Dare2, 2005), the unit shows no sign of slowing down. Critical Mass proves that when the chemistry is right, even longstanding bands can continue to improve by introducing new elements, without forgetting what made them great in the first place. The quintet has been ...