Left of center drummer Phil Haynes puts together an opus of three discs that bring together his band’s two studio albums from 1989 and 1991, as well as a previously unreleased 1995 gig from the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The music ranges from gorgeous yet forward looking solos and harmonies to cataclysmic traffic jams, all the while ambitious and adventurous.
The 1989 4 Horns & What have Haynes with Paul Smoker/tp, Ellery Eskelin/ts, Andy Laster/wwind and Joe Daley/lowbrass for a chaotic “A’lil Iowa Get Down”, lovely Ballad For Heike” and aggressive “Alone”. 1991’s team changes with Clarence Robertson’s brass replacing Daley for a swinging “Sweep”, muted “ Holler 4 Horns” and brash “Adreinne’s Jazzmarchtag”. The concert from 1995 exchanges John Tchicai/ts for Robertson, with many of the studio tunes revisited with exactitude and enthusiasm, while the band sways through “West Virginia Blues”. The charts are quite adventurous, sometimes deep in the pocket and other times falling down the elevator shaft. It must have been something to see!