Although often overlooked, drummer
Paul Motian led one of the most inventive jazz bands of the mid-1980s. His quintet, which featured the tenors of
Joe Lovano and
Jim Pepper, guitarist
Bill Frisell and bassist
Ed Schuller, could play anything from swinging advanced hard bop and
Ornette Coleman-type free bop to spacier improvising. An underrated composer,
Motian contributed seven of the nine numbers for this date; the quintet also performs
Thelonious Monk's "Misterioso" and "Pannonica."
Frisell is featured on "Byablue" (which had earlier been recorded by
Keith Jarrett); the two tenors (
Pepper doubled on soprano) work together quite well, and the band definitely had its own sound. Of its three recordings, this is a strong one to start with. ~ Scott Yanow