Just Add Water
Drummer Bobby Previte isn't leading the most famous group in jazz, but Bump is a major musical force, a band that will stand comparison to the Dave Holland quintet. With Ray Anderson on trombone, Marty Ehrlich on tenor saxophone, Wayne Horvitz on piano, and Steve Swallow on electric bass, every member is distinguished, and there's a special guest as well, Defunkt trombonist Joseph Bowie. There's a mixture of power and clarity here, with Previte's compositions marshaling all that improvisatory vision into sustained statements, from soulful Mingus-like energy to a sweeping lyricism. It's a small band, but Previte treats it like an orchestra, whether using repeated figures to generate driving momentum or rich harmonic backdrops. On "Nice Try," Previte's sense of form comes to the fore, and Ehrlich is so lyrical as to suggest Johnny Hodges on tenor. Horvitz's "Leave Here Now" assembles the blues out of bits in the air, before turning to funk with overwrought trombone from Anderson and twisting licks from Ehrlich over the rock-solid rhythm section. Previte's roadhouse backbeat presses the trombonists on "'53 Maserati" before they're on to the New Orleans march of "'63." "Everything I Want" combines eerily abstract harmonies and gutbucket trombone, further revealing a band that can enjoy being in two places at once.--Stuart Broomer