Dutch Dave

A very solid album of mainstream modern jazz by the Dave Holland Big Band, called What Goes Around. It's difficult economically and fashion wise to keep together a big band these days and it isn't an idiom that is necessarily associated with modern jazz. I can think of Charles Mingus and the more left field Sun Ra but jazz now is predominantly a small group genre. But although not a permanent band ( this recording and the occasional festival gig ) this ensemble produces glorious hard swinging music built around the compositions and arrangements of Holland coincidentally a bassist like Mingus. The drive comes from the joy the musicians feel in the collective spirit of the music as it incorporates their own individual talents and personalities. The band assembled here is thirteen strong and brass heavy with no woodwinds and vibes instead of piano. But the sounds produced are cerainly variable enough to sustain interest.