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about
Bassist/composer Mario Pavone's last two Playscape releases, Mythos and Orange have both ended up on best of the year lists in publications like AllAboutJazz-New York and the Village Voice, inspiring critics like the New York Times' Ben Ratliff to write, "His music has never been less than compelling."Boom features four musicians from those recent releases in a new streamlined quartet, performing new Pavone-penned pieces, as well as previously unrecorded material from the late multi-instrumentalist/composer Thomas Chapin, whom he played with as part of the renowned Thomas Chapin Trio.
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Reviews
| 2005 Record Poll |
| — Troy Collins, Cadence |
| Editor's Choices 2005 list |
| — Cadence |
| Readers' Choices 2005 list |
| — Cadence |
| Best of 2004 list |
| — Jerry D'Souza, Coda |
| Best of 2004 list |
| — Alan Lankin, Jazzmatazz |
| Top 10 New Releases of 2004 List |
| — Laurence Donohue-Greene, AllAboutJazz—New York |
| Favorite Recordings of 2004 List. |
| — Maurice Hogue, CKUW |
| ...his writing only gains in subtlety and sophistication with passing time and this is a really terrific composer's record, with eight pungent themes and a rerun of a couple of collaborations with Chapin, including the delightful "Bad Birdie". |
| — The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, 9th. ed. |
| "The quartet deftly navigates Pavone's charts with tightly knit rhythmically charged ensemble heads and spacious solo sections. Pavone also rearranges two compositions by the late Thomas Chapin...They honor Chapin's legacy and fit comfortably alongside Pavone's originals, demonstrating how he continues to explore musical approaches they developed together, while maintaining his compositional identity." |
| — Sean Patrick Fitzell, AllAboutJazz - New York |
| Pavone's and Wilson's groove is like quicksand seemingly firm yet ready to suck in the careful listener...Malaby and pianist Peter Madsen are surefooted as they negotiate this rhythmic quagmire, drawing inspiration from its complexity rather than being stymied. [Pavone] seems to be giving voice to an inner ritual drummer. That beat sets the tone for yet another fine session under his leadership. |
| — David DuPont, Cadence |
| ...veteran bassist Mario Pavone has been producing a body of work acclaimed by the jazz cogniscenti, though it doesn't receive as much attention as it deserves...this set is a fine example of what contemporary jazz should be about. |
| — Marc Chénard, Coda |
| If anything, Boom is among the most melodically delightful, musically proficent works issued on the Playscape label... |
| — Ron Wynn, JazzTimes |
| Pavone writes pieces full of smart angular swagger and the group nails them with assurance, collectively stretching them with an elastic sense of free swing. [His] stalwart bass provides is in evidence throughout, voicing the themes, playing counterpoint to piano and reeds, and stepping out for trenchant solos. Here is a band steeped in the tradition from bop to freedom, with the smarts and originality to make music that grabs the listener from start to finish. |
| — Michael Rosenstein, Signal to Noise |
| Pavone's originals are a well-turned lot, but the knockout performance is a scorching cover of "Bad Birdie", one of two previously unrecorded Thomas Chapin tunes included in the program. |
| — Nate Dorward, Paris Transatlantic |
| Boom is Pavone's latest on Playscape, featuring the bassist in a quartet setting with the dazzling Peter Madsen holding down the piano chair, alongside saxophonist Tony Malaby and drummer Matt Wilson. The bulk of the set highlights Pavone's compositional skills – pieces that foster group interplay as they gnaw on underlying melodic fragments with unpredictable metric shifts, substantial collective creativity, and a sense of humor...another strong release emerging out of Pavone's fruitful partnership with Playscape and this select group of exceptional instrumentalists. |
| — Jay Collins, One Final Note |
| They chip in and put all the pieces together so compactly that it would be hard to imagine any other band reaching in and reacting to the music as marvellously as they have done. To tip the hat to that cliché, Pavone wears a coat of many colours. He writes with an ear for melody, but it is his intuition in adding the breadth and the scope, in the constant reshaping of the song, that makes his music so exceptional. |
| — Jerry D'Souza, AllAboutJazz |
| Mario's powerful acoustic bass is at the center, pushing and pumping as the piano and drums swirl around him tightly and Malaby's great soprano and tenor dance above performing a number of inspired solos. Both Tony and the extraordinary pianist, Peter Madsen, are gifted soloists and are spirited throughout. Another year and another classic gem from Mario Pavone! |
| — Bruce Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery |
| What makes Boom remarkable and, ultimately, strangely appealing, is its combination of a freer sensibility with a rhythmic approach that usually maintains something resembling established time. Wilson's time may be loose, but it is still impeccable. A thrilling combination of the oblique and the clearly-stated, Boom is another fine offering from Pavone, who continues to move the tradition forward with every record. |
| — John Kelman, AllAboutJazz |
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