The Yellowjackets' first release for GRP, Greenhouse, is a real gas. The disc starts innocently enough with "Freedomland," the kind of smart
smooth jazz song that marked The Spin. It's on the following "Greenhouse" that listeners glimpse a change in the air: Strings (!) set the stage for dreamy, exotic
jazz that melts in your mind, music that goes well beyond similar experiments on earlier
Yellowjackets sessions. From this point on, the band travels back in time:
Russell Ferrante's piano, the understated rhythm section, and
Bob Mintzer's saxophones (
Marc Russo had left, though
Mintzer wasn't an "official" member yet) smoke with the fire of
cool jazz. There are still some
electronics employed, but generally they're arranged in a subordinate role to give the acoustic sounds an added presence. It would be tempting to call
Mintzer the catalyst of change -- his saxophone playing is more note-filled and squeakier than
Russo's, a style that evokes traditional
jazz -- but the new direction in sound is just as evident in the piano playing of
Ferrante, the softened attack of
William Kennedy (plenty of cymbals, quieter snare hits), and the articulated playing of
Jimmy Haslip (best heard on "Indian Summer"). The fresh start allows the Yellowjackets to escape from under the cloud of
smooth jazz and expose their "serious" side, all while continuing to place composition and melody over individual musicianship. Calling this the band's most mature work to date belies a natural distrust of
smooth jazz, so better to say that Greenhouse is loaded with personality.
Mintzer's spooky bass clarinet on "Brown Zone," the wild
bop workout unleashed on "Liam/Rain Dance," and the violin jig on "Freda" are among their most memorable musical moments.
The Yellowjackets haven't changed the way they approach their music, but the newfound ability to communicate in a more traditional
jazz setting casts them in a whole new (and flattering) light. ~ Dave Connolly, All Music Guide
