Search - Scott Colley :: Portable Universe

One cannot say enough great things about Scott or this album

11/28/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Scott Colley is arguably the most technically able jazz bassist in history; he's the only virtuouso bassist I know of who is capable of consistently pulling off fast legato lines without comprimising sound or clarity.
And unlike what ends up happening with far too many viruouso bassists, Scott's "Haden"-esque sense of melody never takes a back seat to his technical abilities. This recording is extremely musical all around; solos by Potter and Kenny Werner are among the best I have heard out of them. Most tunes are Colley's, and they are all wonderfully thoughtful and original. "Five- two" is a hauntingly beautiful piece that features a bass line in 5/2 and a melody in 4/4, handled by bass with no overdubbing. Werner sounds especially good on the 16 bar blues "Catalyst".
While all the pieces are very thoroughly composed, there is a lot of room for free interaction, and I think the free playing on this album is some of the most musical and unselfish I've come across.Scott has a few other really good recordings that are quite different from this one, but for anyone unfamiliar with his playing I think this is the best place to start: it seems to me to be the one that everyone involved put the most effort into. And for anyone who is already a fan, it seems imperative to own some of his best work."