Billy Hart Quartet Birthday Bash

Billy Hart Quartet
Multidirectional Album Release & Hart's 85th Birthday Celebration
Smoke Jazz & Supper Club
November, 30, 2025

Hello, my name is Chris DeRosa, and this is what I heard...

The show took place at the legendary New York City venue Smoke Jazz & Supper Club. This venue is not only a hub for some of the finest live jazz performances today, but it also supports the jazz community through Smoke Session Records, the label responsible for the evening's album release celebration.

Before the show, I had the opportunity to speak briefly with Billy Hart. I asked him if there was anyone in his long and storied career he felt a special connection with or particular joy in playing alongside. He paused, looked reflective, and became serious. "They were all special," he said, comparing the question to asking whom one might want to meet: Gandhi, Jesus, Moses? He emphasized that, especially in times of so much negativity and hate, music and musicians have a role in creating positive energy. He couldn't just pick one but said Lena Horne definitely stood out along with Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis. I could tell immediately that Hart felt things deeply and had a lot of love in his heart.

The lights dimmed, and the show began with Mark Turner's "Sonnet for Steve," the third track on Multidirectional (Smoke Session Records, 2025). It was a good vehicle for Hart to complement the sax melody with subtle yet sophisticated rhythmic manipulations. His minimal approach worked well, intensifying the groove. His unexpected rhythmic expressions gave this interpretation a more whisper-like big band quality. The master knew exactly what he was doing, even at 85, but still full of power and life.

Before the next tune, Hart posed a question to the audience: What did the Queen of Sheba, King Solomon, and he have in common? The answer was Balkis, a word denoting someone dear. In Hart's case, it referred to his daughter. Balkis literally translates to "queen," "intelligent," and "beautiful" in Arabic. Hart then proceeded to paint this word sonically with an extended mallet solo from "Song for Balkis" on his toms. His weaving of melodies and fragmented ostinatos flourished into a soundscape until Ethan Iverson transitioned the piece into "Ohnedaruth" from All Our Reasons (ECM, 2012). Hart and Turner worked the tune into a playful sax/drum dialogue towards the latter half until it dissipated into silence.

Next, Hart spoke about the memories he had of his grandmother and said this next tune was called "Dutchess" from the Oshumare album (Gramavision, 1985) because that's the name his father used for her. The band's performance flowed like a river of intertwining melodic lines, creating a palpably thick groove. While listening, I remembered something that Peter Erskine once asked me: What does it sound like when a bear walks through the woods?  Shit-Yeah, Shit-Yeah. Tonight, Hart was the bear.

The next tune was "Showdown" by Iverson, the last cut from Multidirectional. It was very interesting to see how Hart chose to support this ballad using a mallet in his left hand and a brush in his right hand to create a repetitive "soft rock" like groove. Although Hart is mostly recognized as a jazz drummer, he used a straight or duplet time feel for much of the set, helping us understand why, early in his career, he was able to play with such artists as Otis Redding and Dave Burrell / Sam Woodyard.

Before the final piece of the evening, Hart picked up the mic and asked if anyone knew what "Neon" was. He then appeared to go into a trance for what seemed like several minutes, slowly repeating the words Neon... Aura... over and over and over again. When he stopped, he eased into an extended drum solo, transitioning from 3/4 to 6/8 to 4/4 time signatures until, on cue, the band slid into the Iverson tune "Neon" from the Quartet album (HighNote Records, 2006), closing out the set.

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