Critical Mass
Studio album by
the Dave Holland Quintet
ReleasedAugust 29, 2006
RecordedDecember 2005
StudioAvatar, New York City
Genre
Length1:12:50
LabelDare2/Sunnyside
ProducerDave Holland
The Dave Holland Quintet chronology
Overtime
(2005)		 Critical Mass
(2006)		 Pass It On
(2008)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
All About Jazz[2]
The Guardian[3]
The Inlander[4]
Jazzwise[5]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[6]
PopMatters8/10[7]
Tom HullB+[8]

Critical Mass is a studio album by the Dave Holland Quintet released in 2006 through Dare2, his second release for his own label. This is Holland's first recording to feature drummer Nate Smith; saxophonist Chris Potter, trombonist Robin Eubanks and vibraphonist Steve Nelson all return from previous Holland projects.

Reception

Steve Greenlee of JazzTimes stated "It’s been five years since Dave Holland’s quintet released an album of new material. The bassist hasn’t exactly been relaxing in the meantime; he put out two albums of big-band music and toured extensively, and released a stellar double-live CD by his quintet. And all the while, the least grateful among us have been hankering for some new music from Holland’s quintet. Well, here it is, and it holds its own against Prime Directive, the group’s most impressive release... The groupthink mentality manifests itself most obviously on the New Orleans tribute “Easy Did It,” for which Holland and Smith create a slithering, swelling rhythm that culminates in a five-way roundtable of near-chaos. Critical Mass will be on everyone’s list of 2006’s best."[9] John Kelman of All About Jazz wrote, "Proof that it's possible to retain one's identity while breaking new ground, Critical Mass continues a streak of winning records for Holland that shows no sign of letting up."[2] John Fordham of The Guardian added, " It's unflinching contemporary instrumental jazz, but as subtly melodic as Holland's bands always are."[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Dave Holland except as noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Eyes Have It" 7:00
2."Easy Did It" 11:16
3."Vicissitudes"Chris Potter9:56
4."The Leak"Nate Smith5:42
5."Secret Garden" 8:42
6."Lucky Seven" 8:35
7."Full Circle"Robin Eubanks12:11
8."Amator Silenti"Steve Nelson9:17
Total length:1:12:50


Personnel

References

  1. ↑ Tamarkin, Jeff. Critical Mass at AllMusic
  2. 1 2 KELMAN, JOHN (23 August 2006). "Dave Holland Quintet: Critical Mass". All About Jazz. allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 Fordham, John (3 November 2006). "Dave Holland, Critical Mass". The Guardian. theguardian.com. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  4. ↑ BOWEN, MICHAEL. "CD Reviews". The Inlander. inlander.com. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  5. ↑ Heining, Duncan (17 January 2007). "Dave Holland Quintet - Critical Mass". Jazzwise. jazzwisemagazine.com. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  6. ↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 718. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  7. ↑ LAYMAN, WILL (5 October 2006). "Dave Holland Quintet: Critical Mass". PopMatters. popmatters.com. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  8. ↑ "Tom Hull: Grade List: Dave Holland". Tom Hull. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  9. ↑ Greenlee, Steve (1 December 2006). "Dave Holland Quintet: Critical Mass". JazzTimes. jazztimes.com. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
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