Dancing on the Tables in Bloomington, MN

Famous for his work as a teenager in Europe playing with veteran American greats, and for his many recordings as a sidemen with the veteran straight-ahead
jazz
all-stars for the
Pablo
label (including
Oscar Peterson
), bassist
Niels Pedersen
's own projects tend to be more modern than
bop
-oriented. For this set,
Pedersen
's quartet includes three rather notable sidemen: the then fairly unknown guitarist
John Scofield
; drummer
Billy Hart
; and
Dave Liebman
on tenor, soprano, and alto flute. The bassist contributed four compositions, which are joined by a
Danish folk
song. The nearly 15-minute
"Dancing on the Tables"
(which utilizes some childlike melodies) and the episodic
"Clouds"
are highlights of the continually intriguing and adventurous program. ~ Scott Yanow