Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Steve Lantner Quartet: Given - Live In Munster

344

Steve Lantner Quartet: Given - Live In Munster

By

Sign in to view read count
Steve Lantner Quartet: Given - Live In Munster
Pianist Steve Lantner possesses the uncanny and, in certain respects, enviable manner to triumphantly fuse free-jazz elements with microtonal inferences and the twelve-tone system. With a superb support structure in place featuring a wonderful foil in multi-reedman Allan Chase, Lantner's quartet presents a study in contrasts, all enhanced with its radiating contrapuntal maneuvers and synergistic group-centric dialogues.

Recorded live at the International Jazzfestival in Munster, Germany, the musicians project lucid imagery as they brew and then recycle an amalgamation of interrelated themes. Lantner scurries, weaves and pursues meticulous chord progressions along with Chase's multilayered phrasings. Here, the soloists trade mini-motifs, often levitating a given theme into a feverish string of events, and then carefully wind down. Unlike many other units of this ilk, the quartet merges the freer realm with a polished gait. No train wrecks or wanton soloing escapades to be found, it's simply music that matters.



On "Given, part 3," bassist Joe Morris' nimble solo, constructed upon flickering notes, helps temper the largely, energized flow, effectively mimicking the lead soloists while adding additional perspectives as Chase's bluesy and ethereal baritone sax evokes a late-night, smoke-filled room environ. Lantner offers a divergent set of musical foundations throughout the multipart implications of the track titles; on "Given Part 5," for example, the quartet frequently pauses, segueing into a swaggering state of momentum abetted by Chase's flirtatious sax voicings and Lantner's rambunctious chord clusters. The group wraps all the sub-parts together and then moves cautiously into medium tempo swing vamps, with drummer Luther Gray stretching out and realigning the quartet for the finale.

One of the more striking aspects of Lantner's music pertains to his mergence of off-center musical concepts with an attainable program that makes near perfect sense. As history would dictate, many artists or bands communicate an overall muse that is marred with a multitude of technicalities. On the contrary, Lantner's often complex music can generate a prismatic sequence of events that steers the mind's eye into a gamut of curiously interesting propositions.

Track Listing

Given, part 1; Given, part 2; Given, part 3; Given, part 4; Given, part 5; Given, part 6.

Personnel

Steve Lantner: piano; Allan Chase: alto, baritone and soprano saxophones; Joe Morris: double-bass; Luther Gray: drums.

Album information

Title: Given - Live In Munster | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Hat Hut Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.