Riel, the Great Dane of European jazz drummers, joins the realm of the New York neo-bop crowd for his fourth disc as a leader. Tenor saxophonist
Jerry Bergonzi, bassist
Eddie Gomez, and either guitarist
Mike Stern or pianist
Niels Lan Doky, are more than equal partners, while
Michael Brecker joins
Gonz on the front line for two tracks.
Riel is an exceptional timekeeper and unique in that he is able to create improvisations within a steady rhythmic framework that is intense and frenetic. Most of these tunes boast an easy, effortless swing, but it's the bop within that sets them apart. Over a ten-minute span, "Channeling" spins a dark caste funneled into an easy swing, with patented solos from
Gomez and
Stern, while "Invisible Light" is a beautiful "Naima"-like ballad. Other
Gonz items feature
Brecker in unison for the stealth "Gecko Plex," and a highlight ("On Again, Off Again") with contrary harmonic lines on the head in a series of two-note phrases strung together like Christmas lights with staggered blinks. These latter two pieces epitomize the creative neo-bop sound of the late 1990s. Also in this idiom is the title track, written by pianist
Lan Doky, whose short shrift earlier in the CD is made up for on this exciting cut, with tenor and basslines played together leading to a harder swing and some virtuosic moments from
Riel,
Gonz, and
Gomez.
Bergonzi wrote the morosely titled "He's Dead Too," a cat and mouse melody with implied samba and
Stern's grizzly guitar licks.
Gomez contributed "Amethyst," a tender ballad with
Bergonzi waxing poetic; the lone standard "Moment's Notice" gives further beef to the contention that
John Coltrane is the number one figurehead in this contemporary jazz movement. It's clear these are experts in their field, and
Riel is comfortably in their league. Further evidence is included in an extensive, perhaps complete, amazing discography printed in the booklet of this CD. It's proof positive that Europe has at least one precious percussive jazz commodity America lacks.