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About Lan Xang
Product Description Original music by a quartet consisting of 2 saxophones, bass and drums: Scott Colley, bass; Donny McCaslin, tenor; Dave Binney, alto and Jeff Hirshfield, drums. This is the debut CD by this New York group which has been performing and touring together since 1994. Lan Xang's members have an incredible rapport with each other, and their music is unlike anything you've heard from an ensemble of this instrumentation. They played to high critical acclaim at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September '98. Amazon.com Lan Xang is a band that clearly loves instrumental contrasts. They extend their reach into the realm of wood flutes, Tunisian horns, shakers, and bells to accentuate this fact. But they do so amidst a lean lineup comprised of saxophonists Dave Binney and , bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Jeff Hirshfield. Much of the time, Lan Xang is farming strong rhythms, helmed by Colley's big bass sound, which can stretch rhythms to make them seem like long, patient strides, and Hirshfield's sharp-strike drumming. McCaslin and Binney tend to blur the lines between solos and accompaniment, with melodic lines that recall a less angular . They twine themselves often, playing shadow games with spacious tunes, bop influenced for sure but equally colored by soulful hard bop and the Downtown New York scene. They stay within the lines, not screaming solos or fleeing into abstraction, but they draw the lines liberally--making plenty of room for solos that resist pounding rhythms. They're a strong quartet whose appeal reaches beyond most single-style constituencies but easily encompasses the Knitting Factory crew as well as fans of Coleman, , and others. --Andrew Bartlett Review "The double-deep alto-tenor blend and Colley's low-down support combine to grip your head in ways that only the most expressive, honestly conceived music can. The feel is equal parts new music and jazz. Strong riffs are woven under deadly serious sax solos. ...we'd rate [their] Southern California landing as one of the year's great events." -- Bill Kohlhaase, LA Weekly, September 25, 1998 "The two-reed front line...trace 15 jagged, elegant, freehand shapes in soaring unison. Then they erupt, individually or together, inciting one another. ...Lan Xang is a wild ride, but it is also a suite, threaded together by recurrent motifs." -- Thomas Conrad, Stereophile, August 1998 "This is a unique and evocative quartet, which has something new to say at a time when a lot of new jazz leans on the art of the skillful retread...it all hangs together beautifully, an aesthetic born of seamless synthesis." -- Josef Woodard, Los Angeles Times, September 24, 1998 From the Label "Some of the most adventurous, refreshing and intelligent music in jazz today...a gem worth digging for." About the Artist Dave Binney, alto saxophone, member of Drew Gress' Jagged Sky, Uri Caine's Mahler Project, Lost Tribe and the Leni Stern Band; other recordings include Medeski, Martin and Wood, Scott Colley's Portable Universe, Edward Simon, Alex Sipiagin, Lonnie Plaxico. His own recordings are The Luxury of Guessing on Audioquest Music and Free to Dream on Mythology Records (both available on Amazon) and Point Game on Mesa Blue Moon. Donny McCaslin, tenor saxophone, member of Steps Ahead, George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, Santi Dibriano; member of the Gary Burton Band 1988-91, Danilo Perez, Makoto Ozone, Mingus Big Band. Scott Colley, bass, current member of Jim Hall Trio, tours and/or recordings with: Pat Metheny, Joe Lovano, Carmen McRae, Mike Stern, Roy Hargrove, Chris Potter, T. Monk, Jr., Toots Theilemann, John Scofield and Phil Woods. Jeff Hirshfield, drums, featured on over 100 recordings including Randy Brecker, Bennie Wallace, John Zorn, Toots Theilemann, Joey Calderazzo, Tim Berne, Mike Formanek, John Abercrombie, Eliane Elias, Gary Peacock, Eddie Daniels, et al.
