This album has three distinctive things going for it, two obvious, one less so. First there is the band, with Oatts as co-leader, lead alto and soprano saxophonist. It comprises top flight musicians mostly from New York with a smattering of Scandinavians. Co-leader and arranger Mats Holmquist writes in the liner notes of coming across Oatts as soloist in the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, which gives an indication of one of his inspirations. Then there are the tunes, all Herbie Hancock classics with the +1 an original by Holmquist. They include ‘Canteloupe Island’, ‘Chameleon’, ‘Dolphin Dance’, ‘Maiden Voyage’ and ‘Toys’. The third strong element is arranger Holmquist's interest in the minimalist music of composers like Steve Reich. The way he applies minimalist techniques to his arrangements – ‘Chameleon’ is a prime example and one where he states he used an idea inspired by Reich's piece ‘Drumming’ – and then makes sense of them within the modern big band tradition is really intriguing. It's that minimalist element that makes this album much more interesting than it would have been as a simple reworking of Hancock's music for big band. The solos are as adept as you would expect from musicians of this calibre, but the ensemble activity that surrounds and links them holds just as much excitement.