Home »
Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Yellowjackets: Time Squared
The Yellowjackets: Time Squared
Perhaps out of ignorance, I have avoided the Yellowjackets because of my distaste for the Rippingtons. I am a stick-in-the-mud-acoustic-jazz-snob. And, I must admit, I am that to my own disadvantage and loss. Over the past 20 years, the Yellowjackets have released 20 recordings, counting
Time Squared. In that time they have sold beaucoups records, started their own record company, and toured widely. Listening to
Time Squared it is easy to understand why. The band adopts a "Rhythm and Jazz" stance that separates them from Spyro Gyra and scores of anemic new age electric combos. Add to that, the band contains perhaps the four finest electric jazz musicians around.
Equal in all parts, the band is a groove machine. Bob Mintzer is the heir to Eric Dolphy’s bass clarinet crown, shoehorning this stubborn instrument into a contemporary setting (hear "Smithtown"). Ferrante’s acoustic piano playing is in apparent high gear with great solos on "Smithtown", "Go Go," and "V." Haslip and Baylor are outstanding here as always.
I suspect that I will forever remain a stick-in-the-mud-acoustic-jazz-snob. I am glad, however, that there is music like this to sneak up on me.
For more information, see Heads Up Records and The Yellowjackets .
Personnel
band / ensemble / orchestra
Album information
Title: Time Squared
| Year Released: 2003
| Record Label: Heads Up International
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.
Go Ad Free!
To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to
future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by
making a donation today.