IMI Kollektief – “Snug As a Gun ” – [Clean Feed]

Max Level   1/9/2007   CD, Jazz

A quintet with members from Brazil, Belgium, France, and Portugal. They do a bop-style thing with sax, vibes, trumpet/flugelhorn, and possible accordion, over a punchy bass/drums combo. With the exception of #5, which is gloomy and sounds like an improv, the arrangements tend to be lively and full of surprises. Everyone contributes to the writing. The players are all brilliant, with chops galore but not overly polished– just the way I like it. In particular my ears keep finding Els Vandeweyer and her vibes; there’s something I can’t put my finger on that keeps her from sounding like other jazz vibists I’ve heard. And her tune “F**ked Up” (#4) is my favorite track; it has slow and fast parts, and makes good use of solos, duos, trios, and the full ensemble. Everyone in the band shines on it. Actually, though, everyone shines pretty much everywhere on this CD.