A PART, AND YET APART

Excellent addition to any jazz collection. Yes, jazz, becouse this cd has nothing to do with progrock. It's a solid jazz realase. And so there appears a question. Will a fan of progressive rock like this stuff? Perhaps. This album has got enough energy and rythm, that will keep you sitting and listening to it's end. The disc opens with "No Truce with the Furies," kicking off on a rhythmic piano and bass line with an odd-metered feel to it behind which Bruford skips snare rolls and a steady metronome on the ride. Saxophone then introduces the main theme, edging the piece toward a jazzier feel than the opening suggests followed by an even more thoroughly jazzy piano bit. "A Part, and yet Apart" starts off with a mellow and easygoing swing feel topped by a lyrical soprano sax lead, then gives way to a more insistent section that gradually builds and flashes through some beautiful harmonized runs to return to the opening mellowness. "Footloose and Fancy Free" immediately gets you into a new groove with Latin percussion and an inordinately yummy swing-funk bass, over which piano and sax introduce the main theme's quirky boppingness. "Dewey-Eyed, then Dancing" begins precisely with the feel of an after-hours solo dance, that is suddenly interrupted by the handsomest chorus on the album, a lovely, almost straightforward cadence. The meditative mood then returns, but the cadence still seems to be creeping through the music subtly, hanging out in the background to finally return full force and end the cd perfectly. You must make you're own choice. If you like jazz be sure to pick it up.