It’s not the job of liner notes to critically appraise the recording for which they were written. Liner notes are supposed to be laudatory, occasionally hagiographic, but they’re never meant to critique. That’s the job of the review. Reviews don’t make good liner notes and vice versa. Exceptions prove rules, however. So congratulations must go to Arturo O’Farrill, because his excellent liner notes for the debut album from pianist Jeff Holmes’ Quartet—the equally excellent Of One’s Own—could readily serve as a review.

Read the full review here.