When
Bill Bruford led his jazz-oriented
Earthworks combo in the '80s and '90s, jazz supporters were hoping that he was turning a lot of rockers on to jazz. After all, he had been
Yes' drummer from 1968-1972 and was highly regarded by progressive rock lovers. And, to be sure, some
Yes fans bought
Earthworks CDs simply because it was
Bruford's band. Of course,
A Part, And Yet Apart is a long way from the music
Bruford played on classic
Yes albums like
Fragile and
Close to the Edge (which was his last album with the band -- by the time
Tales from Topographic Oceans was recorded in 1973,
Alan White had become
Yes' drummer). This is acoustic-oriented jazz, and the playing of
Bruford and his
Earthworks sidemen
Patrick Clahar (tenor and soprano sax),
Steve Hamilton (piano, keyboards) and
Mark Hodgson (acoustic bass) is swinging and mostly straight-ahead. For those who knew
Bruford for his aggressive, high-decibel work on "Roundabout" and "Siberian Khatru," it's interesting to hear all the nuances and reflections of intellectual post-bop pieces like "Sarah's Still Life," "Some Shiver, While He Cavorts" and "Curiouser and Curiouser." The material isn't cutting-edge or innovative -- most of it isn't unlike what post-boppers were doing before
Bruford joined
Yes in 1968. But it's likable, and the drummer has a cohesive and competent unit in
Earthworks. [A Japanese version added a bonus track.]