Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » PRISM Quartet: Real Standard Time

PRISM Quartet: Real Standard Time

By AAJ Staff
March 1, 2001
View read count

The PRISM quartet offers a fresh update to the now long-standing tradition of saxophone quartet playing. The all-saxophone core rarely stands alone on Real Standard Time: instead, they draw upon an indie all-star cast of supporting players to round out their sound. When the group operates at its leanest, much of the material obeys formal arrangement and coordinated dynamics. However, as things develop, they break apart and segment into patterns of open improvisation and interplay.

As opposed to groups like the World Saxophone Quartet, PRISM is less interested in the interface between swing and free jazz. Instead, they prefer to balance carefully composed progression and a more conventional straight-ahead style of improvisation. But the music on Real Standard Time remains unpredictable and open-ended; the inclusion of a spectrum of other players lends it a welcome sense of variety. Within the ironic context of "real standards," PRISM also offers a nice combination of purely original tunes.

Track Listing

Three; Your Gentle Heart; St. Michel; Real Standard Time: Passage; i remember...; Planet X; Irregular Regularity; Brown Eyes; Mission Implausible; Her August Touch; Blues for Mae; Hart's Beat; Three (reprise).

Personnel

PRISM Quartet

band / ensemble / orchestra

Tim Ries: soprano saxophone; Michael Whitcombe: alto saxophone; Mat Levy: tenor saxophone; Taimur Sullivan: baritone saxophone. Ben Monder: guitar; Bob Ward: guitar; Larry Goldings: organ; Franck Amsallem: piano; Tony Scherr: bass; Johannes Weidenmuller: bass; John Riley: drums; Eric Halverson: drums; Matt Wilson: drums.

Album information

Title: Real Standard Time | Year Released: 2001 | Record Label: Innova Recordings

About PRISM Quartet

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Carla Cook: Just a Swingin' and a Gr...
< Previous

Skyful of Bliss
Next >

Become a Sustaining Member

Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.

Help Build the Future of All About Jazz

Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.

Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.

Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.