October 2000

MTB
Consenting Adults
Criss Cross Jazz

By Peter Margasak

M.T.B. is an ad hoc quintet nominally fronted by pianist Brad Mehldau, Mark Turner and guitarist Peter Bernstein-bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Leon Parker round out the band. Propelled by the drummer's relentless ride cymbal swing, the album delivers a lively mix of standards from Blue Note's golden era-Shorter, McLean, Silver-as well as some nice originals from Bernstein and Mehldau, but ultimately it's not much more than a dispensable blowing session; all of its participants have gone on to do more interesting work.