I'm with you on this one, Dolan. Never one of my favorites, but I appreciated his constant search for something new.
BTW ... this coming week at the Vanguard should be very interesting.
Donny McCaslin Quartet New York Times Critics' Pick
Village Vanguard
Jan. 19-26 at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.
It wouldn’t quite be accurate to say that this pugnacious band, led by the tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin, has a big new album out this month. But it also wouldn’t be untrue. The album is the late David Bowie’s “Blackstar,” on which the quartet — with the keyboardist Jason Lindner, the electric bassist Tim Lefebvre and the drummer Mark Guiliana — hunkers down in deep-groove mode, providing something more essential and elusive than strict accompaniment. In his unassuming way, Mr. McCaslin takes a victory lap next week, bringing the band for the first time into the Village Vanguard, with one substitution: for every night but the last, Nate Wood will sub in on bass.