The Gibbs Orchestra -- 24 pieces strong, including the leader on piano and trombone -- has a contemporary funk base, a stratospheric, horn-fired belly, and a multi-guitar head that searches for dark clouds. Billy Martin, Bob Moses, and Ben Wittman provide the rhythms. Stoking the furnace are such notable horn players as saxophonists Lou Marini, Bob Mintzer, Jim Odgren, Dave Tofani, and Chris Hunter; trumpeters Lew Soloff, Earl Gardner, Allan Rubin, and Brit Ian Carr; French hornist John Clark; and trombonists Dave Bargeron and Dave Taylor. Guitarists John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Kevin Eubanks, Duke Levine, and Dave Fiuczynski, bass guitarist Kai Eckhart, and keyboardists Brad Hatfield and Dave Bristow provide the rawer, electric edge. Of the hardest funk, "Wall to Wall" has a contemporary feel, with Odgren's alto reaching David Sanborn proportions amongst a nice under-the-surface flute chorus and subtle "Freedom Jazz Dance" inferences. "Watershed" hosts a similar rhythm, with Scofield sneaking in and out on solos. This piece is preceded by the previously unreleased duet "Waterfront" between gliding soprano saxophonist Julian Arguelles and floating pianist Django Bates. The Gil Evans influence is all too pervasive. Examples are found in the density and polyphonic interplay of "Mopsus," and in the swelling, mysterious, psycho-dramatic funk-to-hard swing of "Pride Aside"; the former is layer laden with a spacy ending, and the latter with Frisell's skyscraper sound and Hunter's alto in parallel, streaking over the horizon, landing firmly on urban landscape territory. The highlight is "Adult," a hip, distended funk with a monster horn chart and again, Scofield soloing. This is followed by the finale, "Pride Outside," another rubato space and stars concept. Also quite inventive is a South African townships flavored 6/8 funk on "Kosasa" replete with percussion workouts that merge into an Afro-Cuban groove coda. Gibbs certainly has a unique approach, mixing many different jazz, ethnic, and rock elements into a seamless whole, his band loaded with talent and his orchestrations thickly settled. This album is not for everybody, particularly not for jazz purists, but some big music is no doubt present, and roaring. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi
