Yellowjackets reedman
Bob Mintzer, best-known outside that group for his big band recordings, steps out in a more straight-ahead jazz direction with
Quality Time. Several of the tracks have a feel similar to the
Yellowjackets acoustic work, while "All Is Quiet" sounds like a
Coltrane ballad from the mid-'60s. On eight of the album's ten tracks,
Mintzer's supporting cast includes pianist
Phil Markowitz, bassman
Jay Anderson and drummer
Peter Erskine. The remaining two cuts are probably outtakes from recent
Yellowjackets' recording sessions, with
Mintzer playing bass clarinet beside
Russell Ferrante's clavinet on the group-written "Emit A1," and the quartet showing its acoustic chops on "Family."
Quality Time is more of a blowing session than the typical
Yellowjackets disc, but the compositions and performances are every bit as high in quality.