Massanetta Springs, the second release as a leader by saxophonist and composer David Borgo, explores a variety of ensemble configurations -- from intimate solo and duo moments to full-on sextet arrangements -- and a broad palette of colors, textures and emotions -- from the post-bop robustness of Only in My Dreams to the provocative interjections of Oddity, from the delicate romance of Duke's Ellington's Sound of Love and In This Life Till Now to the gregarious interactions of Conference of the Birds and Pomodori, and from the earthiness of Scomotion to the subtle complexities of Heron Pool and the title track.
Borgo has the history of the music down pat; his tunes offer a flavoring of post-bop structure, but he steers the bands unerringly into the current era through his gliding improvising style and tune construction.... He touches on the past, teases with the future, but mainly speaks in the present tense.
-Frank Rubolino, All About Jazz
Borgo's wild flight over the jouncing rhythm team is fresh and sometimes even dryly laconic... and the original melodies are knotty and memorable. Mr. Borgo and band are looking for a new combination of the elements of 'free' and 'hard bop'... this CD is worth a listen for anybody wanting to hear the beginnings of a new approach.
-Kenneth Egbert, Jazz Now
These guys are genuinely together, really tight, & the recording is of that "classic" quality that will have you spinnin' th' CD over & over again... MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
-Rotcod Zzaj, Improvijazzation Nation