„Eine auf Prokofiews Cello-Sonate in C-Dur basierende Komposition, aggressive Grooves, schöne Melodien, Kontrapunkt, viel Improvisation, Assoziationen zu Miles Davis’60er Jahre Quartett-all das verkörpern Michael Bates’ Outside Sources auf der aktuellen und zweiten CD der Band...Für mich ist diese CD ein Highlight des noch jungen Jahres."
"...Alles auf dem nun vorliegenden Album dieses Vierergespanns klingt ernsthaft und hochkonzentriert. Die Stücke, die so formbewusst wie offen gestaltet sind, verraten Einflüsse, die von Ornette Coleman über Neue Musik bis hin zu Dave Douglas reichen. Eng umschlingen sich die Bläserstimmen, um pointierte Themen zu intonieren. Dann lösen sie sich für befreite Solo-Ausflüge, und die rhythmischen Strukturen ändern sich wie Landschaften, die an einem Zugfenster vorbeiziehen. Musik, bei der man bis zum letzten Takt fasziniert hängen bleibt."
"His newest album is a melange of original compositions, along with a reworking of a Prokofiev sonata, that show not only Bates' influences but the path he has embarked on as an individual. Following the brief solo exposition “Small Obstacles", in which Bates showers the listener with a flurry of classically inspired arco and pizzicato passages, the band enters with the driving "On Equilibrium"… As a composers Michael Bates shows great promise."
"Prime believer in the DIY-ethos, New York-based (since 2002), British Columbia-born bassist Michael Bates composed 10 memorable themes for himself and three fellow Canucks for this debut CD. Singly and together they confirm that Bates has a mature control of various idioms, whether the influences come from mainstream jazz, advanced free improvisation or Prokofiev. A deconstruction of the Russian composer’s “Cello Sonata in C major”, that track features Bates’ clean arco work; brassy fills from trumpeter Kevin Turcotte; a quasi-martial beat from drummer Mark Timmermans; and harsh, contrapuntal overblowing from tenor saxophonist Quinsin Nachoff. Elsewhere the saxophonist’s stuttering split tones and wind tunnel-like slurred notes make perfect harmonic sense playing off against the trumpeter’s brassy rubato style. Together they enhance Bates’ often slinky and layered themes. As well as funky stop-time showcases, the bassist – who lopes pizzicato lines as craftily as he modulates arco fills – also creates pastoral interludes, personified by Nachoff’s lyrical, clarinet. Some tunes reflect both strands. Episodic and showcasing different tempos and intensity, “Coppertone” for instance, moves from florid flourishes advanced by Turcotte to chromatic honking and flattement from the saxophonist. Including a fleeting Thelonious Monk quote, the penultimate section gives the drummer space to trade fours with the others. By the time the almost nine-minute-track ends, it confirms the bassist’s fine balance and ability to create multi-thematic compositions. The listener can only lament that Bates is another example of Canadian brain drain – improvised music division."
"Outside Sources is a piano-less quartet à la Ornette Coleman whose
improvisational roots rise from Miles Davis's second great quintet. It is
trumpeter Dave Douglas's combination of seemingly disparate influences,
however, that resonates most powerfully through the group's music: Joni
Mitchell, Wayne Shorter and Prokofiev might all claim influence here. The
Russian composer's Cello Sonata in C major is reinterpreted by the group
as the cleverly arranged Prokofiev, which mutates from carefully scored
angular melody into a menacing groove infused with reed man Quinsin
Nachoff's blood and grit wails and howls.
For much of A Fine Balance Bates's strong and supple bass is at the centre
of freewheeling rhythm: the New York-based Canadian toys with and teases
the pulse to electrifying effect. An irresistible searching quality
permeates every second of the disc; trumpeter Kevin Turcotte and Nachoff
generate an astonishing range of colours and emotions, while never
undermining their individual characters. St Helen bursts with contrapuntal
interplay between the musicians; melodic and rhythmic motifs are tossed
around and developed across the texture. Like a Mingus piece, it's
difficult to tell where the improvising begins and the writing ends, but
that mustn't detract from Bates's abundant skill as a composer.
Bates is an important and characterful voice on his instrument also. An
ethereal flutey arco tone at the top of the bass's range endows Partly
Innocent with magic, before double stops and pizzicato bass notes fill the
texture at the piece's conclusion.
Outside Sources's elastic structural approach, saturated with creativity
and energy and channelled through strong compositions, makes for a
remarkable disc. A fine balance indeed."