Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Tomeka Reid Quartet: Old New
Tomeka Reid Quartet: Old New
ByAs the title suggests, Old New is both backward and forward-looking at the same time, typified by the bracingly contemporary take on the old standard "Wabash Blues," which sees feisty solos, teetering on the edge of dissonance, by Reid and guitarist Mary Halvorson. Though the guitarist's pedal-influenced, electric soundworld contrasts sharply with the leader's more broadly acoustic approach, their chemistry is pronounced, navigating the heads in unisonfor the most partand hungrily feeding off each other's improvisational impulses. Double bassist Jason Roebke and drummer Tomas Fujiwara need to be on their toes, switching in a flash between steadily driving rhythms and on-the-fly creativity.
Helter-skelter charge and elegant choreography go hand-in-hand on the title track, although the joins between composed and improvised parts are tantalizingly blurry. Here, Roebke and Fujiwara's unrelenting churn allows space for Reid and Halvorson's open-ended dialogue. A funky, quasi second-line groove bookends tearaway cello and guitar dynamics on "Nikki's Bop." Fidgety abstraction characterizes the early exchanges on "Aug 6," the flailing suddenly steadied by a powerhouse bass groove and cantering drums which launch Halvorson and Reid on parallel flights where lead and accompanying roles are fluid.
The placid, processional gait of "Ballad" underpins Halvorson's determinedly spiky guitar, and nerve-shredding ascending arco from Reid. Even on the straight-ahead bop of "Sadie," powered by walking bass and Fujiwara's lightly skipping brushes, Halvorson's solo stands out from fine efforts by Roebke and Reid for its uncompromisingly avant-garde bent. A modern original, it is perhaps not surprising that Halvorson would eventually cross paths with Bill Frisell, resulting in the excellent The Maid with The Flaxen Hair (Tzadik, 2018).
Creaking strings and restless percussive stirrings cede way to a firm groove on "Edelin," the new impetus unleashing a fuzzy, pedal-skewed guitar storm, and strong yet lyrical bowing from the leader. The episodic "Peripatetic," which moves between dark, brooding textures and urgent rhythms spiced with zesty improvisation, is not a million miles away from 1970s King Crimson. Fine arpeggio, earthy bass and sweet cello are the prelude to shimmering guitar psychedelia on "RN," a hypnotic affair which somehow conspires to be both retro and progressivemuch like the whole album.
Intense yet lyrical, complex yet accessible in equal measure, Old New provides compelling proof of Reid's growing prominence among today's jazz/improvised vanguard.
Track Listing
Old New; Wabash Blues; Niki’s Bop; Aug 6; Ballad; Sadie; Edelin; Peripatetic; RN.
Personnel
Album information
Title: Old New | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Cuneiform Records
< Previous
Extreme Sports
Next >
Suite!
Comments
Tags
Tomeka Reid Quartet
Album Reviews
Ian Patterson
Old New
Cuneiform Records
tomeka reid
anthony braxton
Roscoe Mitchell
Nicole Mitchell
Art Ensemble of Chicago
Mary Halvorson
Jason Roebke
Tomas Fujiwara
Bill Frisell
King Crimson