Search - Kenny Clarke & Francy Boland Big Band :: Off Limits

What A Great Band!

Hugh Oliver | Provo, UT | 04/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Clarke-Boland big band, always a superb group, outdoes even themselves on this outing. They always played with an infectious sass and swagger; here, they sound positively on fire.

These arrangements, although filled with Francy Boland's characteristic brilliance, have more "crossover" influence, with musical shouts, squawks, snarls and some funk in the writing. At times I'm reminded of some of the 70's work of the Don Ellis band, although the CBBB is much better.

This is also the last recorded performance of lead alto sax player Derek Humble. What a loss to jazz music his passing was.

I'm somewhat neutral about the band having two drummers, but at no time does the addition of Kenny Clare hurt.

This CD wears very well--in short, the more you listen to it, the better it gets. It swings as hard or harder as anything by CBBB and sometimes it even rocks.

The recorded sound is so fine it would pass for state of the art by 2008 standards.

Because it's an Italian import, Off Limits costs more than average, but I think it's well worth the price.

Clarke-Boland fans as well as anyone liking big band jazz should acquire this now."