While recording a series of dates for
Steeplechase
, vibraphonist
Joe Locke
was never predictable or in the least bit complacent, frequently changing personnel for each date and never falling into a rut in choosing material. His quartet on this 1995 session includes pianist
Mark Soskin
, bassist
Harvie Swartz
, and drummer
Tim Horner
; the music is wide-ranging, concentrating heavily on
modern jazz
repertoire.
Standards
include a lovely waltzing
"Fly Me to the Moon"
and a slow, exquisite arrangement of
"Skylark."
It might seem dangerous to tackle a piece such as
John Lewis
'
"Django"
with the identical instrumentation of the best-known version recorded by the composer during his years leading
Modern Jazz Quartet
, but it is also the sign of a musician who is confident not only in his own abilities but those of his accompanists; although this arrangement is not drastically different from the classic 1955 recording by the
MJQ
, the excellent individual solos and
Swartz
's superb arco bass make it noteworthy in its own right. A spacious approach to
Denny Zeitlin
's
"Quiet Now"
features
Locke
and
Soskin
as a duo. Among more recent works are
"Truce,"
which begins with an intense bass solo before evolving into a driving
post-bop
chart.
Frank Kimbrough
's introspective
"Sanibel Island"
seems to inspire some of the best solos of the date. This is one of a number of highly recommended CDs recorded by
during the 1990s. ~ Ken Dryden