Some of the more vital figures in jazz, such as David Murray and Henry Threadgill have gravitated to the six-to-eight-piece ensemble, a special challenge to the composer/arranger/improviser. as the scores must have an orchestral impact while retaining the elasticity and allusiveness of small group banter. For the most part, altoist Patrick Brennan successfully meets the challenge on Soup. using a neo-traditionalist syntax similar to Murray’s. Brennan’s charts capture a bristling, if sometimes two-dimensional, energy; subsequently. the boppish spunk of Slick, the loping phrasing of Pressed Shuffle, and the lean, plied voicing of Waltz are fine vehicles for Brennan and the equally blistering tenor of Marvin Blackman (bassist John Loehrke. trombonist Fred Parcells. pianist James Weidman, and drummer Dan Spencer also contribute substantive solos). Though Shuffle and the collective improvising on Atatatata wear thin upon repeated listenings, Brennan has put enough stick-to-your-ribs music into Soup to make one anticipate upcoming courses.

Bill Shoemaker
Downbeat, September 1983
Volume 50 No. 9
Reprinted without permission from Downbeat Magazine