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American bassist Adam Lane is one among well-known musicians pushing advanced modern jazz ahead. If his small bands music is more a question of taste, his bigger combo Full Throttle Orchestra (actually small big band)is probably his most successful format.
On newest album,titled simply "Live In Ljubljana" Adam & Co demonstrate their best music ever. Recordings are made in 2012 at annual jazz festival in Slovenian capitol, one of oldest such eve in region,existing already more than half of century. Ljubljana itself is fantastic small town,real pearl placed between Alps slopes and Adriatic coastal area. Ljubljana's jazz festival got second breath around a decade ago when switched its program towards more modern advanced jazz. In fact, together with similar (but much younger) annual jazz festival in Portugal them two cover by best modern jazz all Southern Europe every summer. No strange leading European advanced jazz label Clean Feed releases lot of concerts from both festivals on their CDs every year.
On this concert Adam leads eight-piece band consisting of rhythm section and large team of brass musicians: two trumpeters (American Nate Wooley and rising Portugal star Susana Santos Silva),sax players Avram Fefer,Matt Bauder and David Bindman plus Reut Regev on trombone. Excellent if not all-star line-up. And they sound like that.
Differently from many Lane's previous albums, here his band plays more straight music, combining early big bands' fun with virtuosity and complexity of Charles Mingus music. Being accessible,even catchy,music here still contains lot of free improvisation,characteristic for progressive big band. All musicians obviously enjoy playing (as well as listeners - you can hear their reaction in moments as well) - and the result is excellent.All compositions are greatly composed and even better played - nothing sounds too repetitive or static here. Each band's member has space for soloing,but no solos lasts too long - right as long as good artist needs to make music more spiced but without risk to lose listeners' attention. Almost 80 minutes recording doesn't last long - in fact it looks it finishes earlier than you expecting. What again evidences how really good the music is - after more than hour of dynamic small orchestra music's listening you feel like wanting more.
Not really a release for Lane's more experimental sound fans,"Live In Ljubljana" is excellent album for everyone interested in advanced small orchestras' music, most probably the best progressive big band's album released in 2014.