Mike Mainieri/Marnix Busstra Quartet "Twelve Pieces" (Downbeat)

*4 stars*

by John Ephland

From song to song, Twelve Pieces brims with a kind of forward motion that suggests this quartet is not only well rehearsed but is thoroughly at home with the material. Vibraphonist Mike Mainieri hooks up with Dutch guitarist Marnix Busstra, bassist Eric van der Westen and drummer Pieter Bast for 12 songs by Busstra that are similar yet clearly different from one another.

To this listener, and with all due respect to Mainieri and Busstra, it's almost impossible to not think of the Gary Burton/Pat Metheny pairing. And while Burton and Metheny still perform together, their collaborations seem less from a group mindset and more as two virtuosos playing with other high-profile musicians. With Twelve Pieces, though, we get to hear Mainieri in a setting that rivals his best work with Steps Ahead, his exceptional four-mallet playing in synch with Busstra's alternating soft and rough tones, van der Westen and Bast reading the leaders' moves whether it's a ballad, an uptempo tune or anything in between.

The album begins unconventionally, with a gentle samba. "Old Fashion." It's as if the group wants to warm up, easing into the set, which actually reflects more of "Old Fashion" than just about anything else that follows. The form of the song is interesting, with its pretty melody, slight arrangement with few unison lines, both Mainieri and Busstra taking the room to maneuver in their solos. Then again, with "Don't Break Step" we suddenly get some funk, Busstra this time recalling John Scofield, the two leaders living up to the title's meaning with loads of unison lines on this medium-tempo frolic. Echoes of John Abercrombie are reflected through the mysterious modal piece "Lost in Spain," Busstra's guitar work giving the song its distinctive imprint, Mainieri's vibes equally dreamy.