New York Art Quartet: Old Stuff (2010)

Nic Jones

CD/DVD Reviewer since 2002

Nic gets a positive sense of wonder from the most worthwhile music.

Recent articles (508 total)

Published: August 13, 2010

Hindsight can be a wonderful thing. For instance, if this music is imbibed with a measure of it, it's possible to hear that the frontline of trombonist Roswell Rudd Roswell Rudd
b.1935
trombone and saxophonist John Tchicai John Tchicai
b.1936
saxophone is one of the most distinctive in improvised music of recent decades. Rudd enjoyed, of course, a similar musical relationship with Steve Lacy Steve Lacy
1934 - 2004
sax, soprano , and while nothing can be taken away from that arrangement, his pairing with Tchicai sounds astonishingly fertile on this Old Stuff, from almost half a century ago.

The first rendition of the title piece is shot through with a tensile energy that keeps the music from coming on like some facsimile of Ornette Coleman Ornette Coleman
b.1930
sax, alto 's classic quartet with Don Cherry Don Cherry
1936 - 1995
trumpet . Drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo Louis Moholo-Moholo

drums was the ideal man for the group, and bassist Finn von Eyben is a revelation. It's clear he'd absorbed the work of players like Scott LaFaro Scott LaFaro
1936 - 1961
bass and Gary Peacock Gary Peacock
b.1935
bass , but he brings a fully formed musical personality to the feast.

Rudd's "Sweet V" has the feel of enervated swing about it, but the composer has always possessed the kind of musical personality which ensures such impressions are often superficial, at least until closer attention is paid. Here, the effort is rewarded abundantly via Rudd and Tchicai's contrapuntal savvy, and Moholo's ability to tailor his playing to meet the demands of the moment.

It's not just the group's reading of Thelonious Monk Thelonious Monk
1917 - 1982
piano 's "Pannonica" which emphasizes its affinity with his music. The quartet takes the piece at a tempo below stately and, in so, doing tease out its odd majesty. In his ability to skirt around tempo, lock onto the pulse and flow, Moholo reveals a less-than-obvious affinity for Sunny Murray Sunny Murray
b.1937
drums 's work, and the brevity of the piece simply elevates perception of the group's empathy.

The collectively singular approach to meter on Tchicai's "Kvintus T" is but one of a number of elements recalling what a distinctive composer he is. Combined with his alto sax work —dry without being acidic, quicksilver but without the tendency to merely allude to notes—Tchicai's is one of the most individual voices of the last fifty years.

So, Old Stuff it might be, but the music still resonates with extraordinary vitality. We would be spoiled indeed if music was caught at such seminal moments as this more often, but the fact that it isn't adds further luster to something that's already very special.

Track Listing: Rosmosis; Sweet Smells; Old Stuff; Pannonica; Kvintus T; Pa Tirsdag; Old Stuff; Cool Eyes; Sweet V; Karin's Blues; Kirsten.

Personnel: Roswell Rudd: trombone; John Tchicai: alto sax; Finn von Eyben: bass; Louis Moholo: drums.

Record Label: Cuneiform Records