Consisting of recordings distilled from live performances at the 1993 Klap Op de Vuurpijl festival,
Overtime/Uberstunden is unfortunately illustrative of the problems that had befallen this once superlative ensemble as of the late '80s. Whereas the
Kollektief had been an exuberant, abundantly creative force from its inception in 1973 through approximately 1985, its later albums became more and more concentrated on repertoire pieces and
Breuker's own increasingly mechanical and ponderous compositions. His more "classically" oriented pieces like "Han de Vries" or the title work here take on an almost martial air, with colorless melodies and stiff rhythms. A jazzier work like "For Greetje Bijma," essentially a slow blues, sounds more like a parody of "Mood Indigo" than an appreciation of it and ends up as a pale, even cynical, variation. It's a shame because the
Kollektief harbors some of the very finest instrumentalists in jazz and, despite the aridity of their recorded output in the '90s, the band remained quite capable of delivering enjoyable and exciting live performances. Here, though performing the compositions entirely professionally, they appear to be resting on past laurels,
Breuker typifies this attitude in his soprano solo on "Overtime/Uberstunden," which begins promisingly enough before settling into his "standard" chicken squawk shtick, something that was once amusing but has become entirely tiresome over the years. This recording can be recommended only to
Breuker completists. ~ Brian Olewnick