On
Darrell Grant's second Criss Cross release he joins forces with two labelmates (tenor saxophonist
Seamus Blake and trumpeter
Scott Wendholt) and frequent collaborators (bassist Calvin Jones and drummer
Brian Blade) to create the classic quintet configuration that provides the foundation for
The New Bop, music rooted in the hard bop/post-bop tradition with a '90s perspective. The focus here is on
Grant's writing, as eight of the 12 compositions are his, influenced by the "larger than a quintet" sound similar to the Horace Silver Quintet of the '50s and '60s. All of the musicians are in fine form with Blake's tenor sax shining most brightly, especially on a spirited, bluesy reading of
Duke Ellington's "Come Sunday." Other favorites include the angular, up-tempo title track, "The Blues We Ain't No More" (a medium swinger with an unusually fragmented melody), "Struttin' to Tangiers" (a melody that combines Eastern flavor with a swing feel), and the energetic, Latin-influenced "Agua Profunda." One of 1995's best releases. ~ Greg Turner