JazzTimes (11/03, p.101) - "[I]t confirms what you know and dig about Dave Holland's Quintet as well as it provides some new insights into the group's underlying forces."
Dave Holland Quintet: Dave Holland (double-bass); Chris Potter (soprano, alto & tenor saxophone); Robin Eubanks (trombone, cowbell); Steve Nelson (vibraphone, marimba); Billy Kilson (drums).
EXTENDED PLAY was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.
With a front line that features saxophone, trombone, and vibraphone/marimba, the Dave Holland Quintet features an immediately identifiable band sound. As for backing, bassist Holland and traps man Billy Kilson provide a push-me-pull-you, supple and responsive rhythm section that is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to accompaniment ideas.
The thing that separates the men from the boys in the world of jazz improvisation is listening--when the performers are paying close attention to one another, the creative horizons are all but limitless. It would be a slight to say this quintet is all on the same page, better to imagine they all bring their knowledge of great art and fine cuisine to bear each time they play together--it's a multi-faceted, heady brew. Holland's compositions are angular but never dissonant, polished but also earthy. The illusion is that these tunes flow effortlessly from this smart ensemble. The truth is that this is one of the best groups in early 21st-century jazz, based on a refined collective sensibility that is savvy and rare.