Holloway's Homework: Reed History

Despite the shortage of clubs and radio stations catering to jazz fans in town, local jazz musicians continue to release impressive recordings, on labels large and small.

"Groove Update" (Milestone), the new release by tenor saxophonist and multiple Wammie winner Ron Holloway, is a celebration of the jazz, funk and soul sounds that have shaped his musical vision and vocabulary. Unabashedly eclectic and often exuberant, the album is clearly the work of someone who grew up in the '60s and '70s with his ears wide open, willing to listen to whatever the radio had to offer.

Anyone with a similar background is likely to appreciate the album's retrospective slant, but it's not the whiff of nostalgia that invites repeated listenings. Rather, it's Holloway's gift for infusing these tributes to Jimmy Heath ("Gingerbread Man"), Herbie Hancock ("Chameleon"), Horace Silver ("Psychedelic Sally") and other role models with a fresh and frequently invigorating spirit. A pair of contrasting homages to Thelonious Monk, which open the album, are typical of its pleasures. On the first, Monk's "Epistrophy," Holloway boldly outlines the theme's angular contours, then vigorously reworks it while exploiting the full range of his horn, including some signature high register fireworks. All the while his rhythmically agile tone appears to be dancing around drummer Andre "Blues" Webb's slashing, off-center backbeat. The assured swing-cum-funk contributions later made by pianist Larry Willis, trumpeter Chris Battistone and bassist Gary Grainger help to further personalize the arrangement. On the next track, "Lulu's Back In Town," a staple of Monk's repertoire, Holloway casually sustains a delightfully whimsical attitude over tuba player Andy Kochenour's burping bass line. It's a thoroughly engaging performance. In addition to several talented area musicians, "Groove Update" features singer-songwriter Gil Scott-Heron, with whom Holloway frequently has collaborated over the years. They continue to sound like true soul mates, even though Scott-Heron occasionally seems to be muttering the lyrics to himself. Holloway performs at Blues Alley on Wednesday.

Copyright 1998 The Washington Post