Sporting several key performers from the vibrant Dutch scene, trombonist
Joost Buis launches a winner with attractive, first-class compositions and arrangements that wind, twist, and coalesce into all sorts of tricky permutations. With the sort of talent represented here -- from saxophonist Tobias Delius, pianist Cor Fuhler, bassist
Wilbert de Joode, and percussionist
Michael Vatcher, to name some of the better-known musicians, to cornetist Felicity Provan, with her incredible punctuating thrusts --
Buis could have simply written heads and allowed the players to speak for themselves. He rejects this easy route, though, in favor of remarkably intricate writing that brings this to a higher level. As with the spectacular Dutch bandleader
Michiel Braam, with whose ensemble
Bik Bent Braam Buis has recorded, there is a splendid mix of melody, distortion, complexity, and, to be expected, superb soloing. The arrangements straddle the line between "in" and "out," not dissimilar to some of
George Russell's creations from the early '60s, with a variety of moods explored. While there are intense moments,
Buis is more concerned with colors, rhythms, and harmony. Although he proves himself a formidable soloist, he only imbibes occasionally, relying instead on the considerable skills of his entourage. The only tune not written by him, the
Ellington and
Strayhorn composition "Zweet Zursday," features a wonderfully understated, muted contribution by
Buis. Those who enjoy the kind of sophisticated, quality performances of groups such as those led by
Braam, and by countryman Sean Bergin's M.O.B., or by ensembles such as the
Italian Instabile Orchestra, should find
Buis' tentet an attractive alternative. ~ Steven Loewy