Talk about all-star groups -- this quintet date matches together vibraphonist
Gary Burton with pianist
Chick Corea, guitarist
Pat Metheny, bassist
Dave Holland, and drummer
Roy Haynes.
Burton and
Corea have recorded frequently through the years, while
Metheny gained some early fame working with
Burton;
Holland was with
Corea in
Miles Davis' late-'60s group, and
Haynes was formerly with both
Burton and
Corea. However, not all of these musicians had played together before --
Corea had never worked with
Metheny previously, nor
Burton with
Holland. No matter, the masterful players fit together quite well. The vibraphonist is the lead voice in the ensembles, where
Metheny at times sounds close to
Jim Hall and seems a bit restrained, but everyone gets a chance to contribute to the success of the CD.
Metheny contributed five songs (including "Question and Answer" and "Elucidation," which deserves to be a standard), while
Burton brought in two;
Corea's three contributions include his classic "Windows." The lone standard is
George Gershwin's "Soon." The music is modern straight-ahead jazz; the solos are concise and the rhythm section is quite tight. In fact, this sounds like a regularly working band. Highly recommended. ~ Scott Yanow