David Haney Quartet: Caramel Topped Terrier (2002)

Glenn Astarita

Senior Contributor since 1997

Longtime contributor to AAJ and Downbeat, Jazz Review, EjazzNews, Radio DirectX.

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Published: February 1, 2002

Canada-born pianist/composer David Haney states that the premise for this recording was based upon "spontaneously composed" material, although the artist subsequently replaced piano tracks on three pieces. Haney's resume includes liturgical and chamber works, hybrid jazz/classical improvisations, and music for ballet. This recording features jazz greats Julian Priester on trombone and Han Bennink on drums. The program is segmented into solo piano interludes, ensemble pieces and duets with the pianist and Priester. Haney utilizes rhythmic structures for the basis of his improvisation and thematic fabrications, yet much of the excitement occurs when the leader, Bennink, and bassist Wilbert de Joode mix it up.

It took this writer a while to warm up to Haney's rather choppy chord progressions and often-superfluous statements. An acquired taste for sure, but a lack of continuity surfaces on more than a few occasions, yet there are some heated and curiously interesting moments. In the liners, Haney prefaces the primary intentions of these separately recorded sessions with allusions to atonality and rhythmic underpinnings. Even so, some of these pieces prove to be rewarding where other areas seem a bit hedonistic or aloof.

Cadence Jazz Records

Track Listing: 1.The Marionette 2.Caramel Topped Terrier 3.Spider Hunt 4.Blues In The Rain 5.Faster Piazzolla 6.the Bicyclist 7.Dialogus 8.Speedway 9.Faster, Pussycat, Kill 10.Span The Distance 11.Nine-Eights 12.Black Swan

Personnel: David Haney: piano

Record Label: Cadence Jazz Records
Style: Modern Jazz