snobb Greg Osby was one of the key-figure of the then fresh and creative M-Base movement, together with another great sax player Steve Coleman. Those times are more a history now, and Greg's latest live album, "Public", is an evidence. Opposite to Coleman, who enjoys (alternative) star status since developing their invented M-Base sound, Osby as a leader rarely received a good critics reviews. With years, his early music, containing rap and guitars drifted towards more conservative mainstream jazz.

Osby's "Public" is recorded on his quartet tour, supporting his "St Louis Shoes" studio album, one among Greg's most successful releases. The band is almost the same, as on the studio recording and contains, besides Osby himself on saxes, bassist Robert Hurst, trumpeter Nicholas Payton on four tracks and lesser known Japanese pianist Megumi Yonezawa, instead of Harold O'Neal, who participated in the album's recording in the studio.

The program, recorded in New York's Jazz Standard, illustrates quite well Osby's direction of the time. The album contains (hardly recognizable) Summertime, Parker and Gillespie's Shaw Nuff, Lover Man, Bernie's Tune, and three Osby originals. Rooted in hard/post bop, there are lot of soloing, sometimes testing the dissonance borders. Still, the album's main problem is the band sounds like they are right in the middle of the road, and during the whole concert can't decide what the way to choose.

On closer renown pop-singer Joan Osborne joins the quartet. Her "Lover Man" sounds quite interesting, but doesn't fit logically under the night's program.

js If someone were to stop me on the street and ask me to name one artist who epitomizes modern jazz, there’s a good chance my answer would be saxophonist Greg Osby. Take his “Further Ado” album, although released in 1997, if I were to hear it in a blindfold test, I would have guessed it just came out this year. Although Greg has recorded many hip hop and avant-funk oriented electronic discs, “Further Ado” features a large acoustic ensemble and it is pretty much pure jazz, although its jazz of a very modern and eclectic mix. Greg and his crew on here mix up post bop, fusion, free jazz and Afro-Latin grooves in compositions that are unmistakably downtown NYC. Like so much of today’s jazz, the melodies and tonality on here veer from extended harmonies out into atonality without a noticeable difference between the two. The line between playing with the chords, or moving outside, is blurred.

Osby has an excellent nine piece mini big band assembled on here with top musicians in every chair, but honorable mention can go to drummer Eric Harland, who handles a myriad of rhythmic styles, and pianist Jason Moran, whose lively solos mix Herbie Hancock elegance with Matthew Shipp styled intense mayhem. Many of the tracks on “Further Ado” are good, but this album’s main weakness is a preponderance of tracks with slower tempos. The abstract melodies on here are not particularly memorable, therefore a certain amount of energy is needed to keep things interesting. The slower numbers aren’t really ballads per se, there is not really enough melody for that, but are more like bump-n-grind jam sessions that don’t always gel. Certainly one of the best tracks on here is the more energetic “Heard”, on which trumpeter Tim Hagans mirrors the angry blasts of Miles’ “Live at the Fillmore’. We certainly get enough modern trumpeters who echo Miles’ soft mute sound, its nice to hear someone who remembers his other side.

In short, this album’s strong points are its very ‘modernity’, its smart music that avoids anything predictable or cliché. The lines between swing, funk and rock, as well as differences between outside or straight ahead soloing, are all blurred. This album’s weakness is a lack of memorable melodic writing, which is magnified when the band covers one standard, “Tenderly”. Now there’s a melody you can hang your hat on, and it stands out after hearing so many tracks that feature purposeful modern abstraction that can sometimes hit a level of numbness.

Matt Similarities with Miles Davis "At The Plugged Nickel" with not only the music but the atmosphere injected into the recording. Sure it is not the famous Quintet but the music has a similar hurried Bop feel with the timing and the way Greg and the band play their solos in a manner that just keeps it all moving along. The other point is "Greg Osby" decided to use a mini disc player placed on a table in front of the bandstand and that was it. Lo-fi but not in a bad way it actually does enhance the music and it does sound like you are in a club with banter and glasses,applause etcetera in the background with the music still being quite enjoyable. Raw and uncompromising Jazz is what this album is about with only one ballad which is beautifully treated written by "Duke Ellington" and all the compositions bar the first are written by Jazz greats such as "Sonny Rollins","Charlie Parker", "Thelonious Monk" and of course the Duke. Greg has penned one and that is the first composition "13th Floor". The band are a Quartet and are all his regulars at the time with "Jason Moran" on piano, "Atushi Osada" playing bass,"Rodney Green" drums and "Greg Osby" is blowing his alto saxo-phone. The band were not even aware that the recording was taking place except Greg of course who stated that he did not want them to feel uptight, he just wanted to record what they really sound like on a normal night for this period back in 1998. The club where the recording took place is undisclosed and the audience were unaware as well because as Greg said he just wanted a normal night with half the audience not even listening.The sound being recorded in the manner that it was does give a little uneven distrubution with the band members but it is not too bad. Of course Greg's alto is loud and clear but Rodney on the drums has lost a little volume but there was only one microphone on the table and the closer you are the louder you will be. Still though the atmosphere is there and it does have that 40, to 60's live recorded sound with some absolutely awesome jazz played by the entire band.

"13th Floor a mid tempo Greg Osby composition is the begining to this show and with a fairly down tempo intro by Greg and the band with some wonderful phrasing from Greg during his solo. Jason Moran is superb with his turn on piano and as Greg did he builds throughout.The first four tunes are all between 12 to 14 minutes in length so each musician gets plenty of space and with the following the Sonny Rollins tune "Pent Up House" is at a quicker tempo and played with great intensity and the entire band are just pushing it along with a great Bop influence. The Ellington tune,"I Didn't know You" is the ballad" and played beautifully. We have "Bigfoot" by "Charlie Parker" and of course it is BeBop in style and play and is the absolute highlight for me with Greg really putting that Bird influence there and the band sounding like they were back there in the early 1950,s. The Monk tune 52nd Street is the album closer and a night of classic jazz from the entire band.

Greg also did not introduce one tune throughout as Greg says "this is not radio". They just played them one straight after the other and jazz with more jazz is the result with also one very nice live jazz album included.