Michael Marcus Quartet: Next Stop Down!

A fixture in the avant-garde jazz community since the early 1990s, multi-instrumentalist Michael Marcus has done notable work with his own ensembles and alongside other prominent improvisers such as William Parker, Sonny Simmons, Andrew Cyrille and Joe McPhee. His first release with ESP-Disk in 2022, Abstractions in Lime Caverns, featured the leader on no fewer than five separate horns, including the tarogato, an instrument which takes center stage on Next Stop Down!, Marcus' first effort with a top-shelf quartet which includes pianist Rod Williams, bassist Rick Rodriguez and drummer Allan Mednard.

The infectious opener, "Mr. Monk Time," bears witness to Marcus' unmistakable debt to Thelonious Monk, and its quirky melodic structure gives him a chance to showcase the nimble proclivities of the tarogato; but thanks to studio multi-tracking, he also employs tenor sax on the cut, enabling the harmonic possibilities of the piece to emerge enticingly. It is a technique Marcus uses elsewhere on the recording, including the album's title track, where he conjoins his tenor and soprano saxophones on another tune with a Monkish flavor. His exuberant soprano solo on the cut is one of his strongest moments on the record, equaled perhaps only by his superb playing on "Zephyr Dialogues," here too on soprano sax—although this time without any multi-tracking, and with a loose freedom that departs from the more defined structure of the album's other pieces.

Marcus' bandmates are highly effective throughout, especially Williams, whose versatility is essential on an album that explores a range of stylistic registers. His expansive technique spearheads his vigorous exchanges with Marcus on "Zephyr Dialogues," attacking the piano with delightful fervor. But his tender restraint is evident on the lovely "Café in Tehachapi," providing supple support for Marcus as he reveals the more lyrical side of the tarogato on a piece with a lilting Latin aspect. Rodriguez and Mednard are no slouches either, offering a firm rhythmic solidity to the tricky-metered "Mindfields in Opulence" and a steady groove behind "Frequency Bliss," a post-bop jaunt with dusky undertones.

Although Marcus' extensive multi-tracking does at times give the album the feel of a quintet rather than a quartet product, one cannot quibble with the quality of these compositions or the fine caliber of the musicians bringing them to life. In a recording career well past the 30-year mark, Marcus is still going strong.