Freedom Art Quartet: First Dance

Raucous, brash and freewheeling, First Dance by The Freedom Art Quartet is rooted in the past yet fresh and contemporary. The album should sound familiar to those who have ventured outside the mainstream and spent time with Ornette Coleman and the Art Ensemble Of Chicago. Those forces are strong in the band, but labeling them retro avant-garde would be unfair and simplistic. There are echoes of New Orleans second lines, a heavy dose of the blues, post-bop elements, a nod to the New York City loft scene and, yes, avant-garde improvisations. Channeling the horn players' freer impulses is a rhythm section that leans toward tradition. The Freedom Art Quartet, via their artistic vision, weaves together many varied skeins into a modern tapestry.

The quartet was founded by Lloyd Haber (percussion) and Omar Kabir (brass, seashells, didgeridoo) in 1991. Haber grew his early studies with Ed Blackwell, Charlie Persip and Freddie Waits into a superb, multi-faceted set of skills, abetted no doubt by jamming with Coleman and Don Cherry. Kabir and his front line partner Alfredo Colón took to heart the missive to find one's personal voice. Kabir's trumpet balances gravelly timbres with a clear, bright tone while Colón's alto sound is full-throated and husky, both adding artful vocalizations, bent notes and slurs. Seduced into jazz by the Art Ensemble and Fred Hopkins, Adam Lane is no stranger to free jazz and experimental music. However, for this album, he mostly utilizes his big, full sound on bass to lay down deep, creative grooves. Oh, there are also a couple of tasty arco splashes.

The cordless configuration mirrors Coleman's early quartet, as do the tandem, sinuous lines. Colón's off-kilter flights pair well with Kabir's expressiveness on these clever, knotty songs, all written by Haber. Some are hard- charging and exuberant, others mid-tempo and, well, still exuberant. Mixed in are moments of relative calm. The rightfully entitled "US Blues Inc." is a lively take that ends with a deeply resonant arco coda by Lane. The modal "Song for the Old Ones" ends with some handpan work by Haber that segues into "Nature of the Past," an atmospheric blend of didgeridoo, handpan, arco-cymbal, gong and assorted percussion. The final title cut is the first composition Haber wrote in the 1980s, which, although performed frequently, was recorded here for the first time.

Vigorous, at times visceral, the album is a rollicking good time. Freedom of expression, freedom of spirit and freedom from labels—the quartet is aptly named. Hopefully First Dance is not this band's last dance.

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