Vibraphonist
Jon Metzger
's debut (recorded when he was in his mid-20s) matches his lead voice with pianist
Fred Hersch
, bassist
Marc Johnson
and drummer
Joey Baron
. The material (five
Metzger
originals and two songs from
Hersch
) is challenging, and a bit unpredictable yet swinging in its own fashion. The music, modern postbop rather than the cool jazz and hard bop often associated with the V.S.O.P. label, is impressive and worth investigating; this LP has not yet been reissued on CD. ~ Scott Yanow