Unlike most
avant-garde jazz
CDs,
A Fine Balance
does not contain any liner notes; therefore, those who acquire this 51-minute CD will find no written explanation of what that title means to acoustic bassist
Michael Bates
. But one who hears this 2004 recording can make an educated guess.
is an appropriate title because
Bates
and his colleagues successfully achieve some balances -- between
improvisation
and structure; individualism and team playing; abstraction and
blues
feeling; and inside and outside considerations. The team is a piano-less acoustic quartet billed as "Michael Bates Outside Sources";
(double bass) is joined by
Quinsin Nachoff
on sax, clarinet, and bass clarinet,
Kevin Turcotte
on trumpet, and
Mark Timmermans
on drums -- and while the players have room to express themselves, they are also mindful of the need to work together as a cohesive unit.
is a musical democracy; one could say that it is very democratic, in fact, but it isn't anarchic. As improvisers,
Nachoff
,
Turcotte
, and
Timmermans
can, to a large degree, do their own thing. Their playing is quite free, but at the same time, they are aware of the needs of
' compositions. As a composer,
draws on influences ranging from
Ornette Coleman
to
Dave Douglas
, and his compositions, although certainly left of center, are also logical and coherent. They are compositions that call for an inside/outside environment, which
and his colleagues skillfully provide.
is not a five-star masterpiece, but it is a worthwhile and enjoyable demonstration of how well the inside and the outside can complement one another in
. ~ Alex Henderson