Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » R|E|D|S: Sign of Four

180

R|E|D|S: Sign of Four

R|E|D|S is a quartet made up of an American expatriate and three Danes: baritone saxophonist Ed Epstein, guitarist Bjarne Roupe, bassist Goran Schelin and drummer Dennis Drud. Epstein and Roupe are close friends, and the saxophonist wanted a vehicle in which to collaborate with the guitarist. With this exegesis, the quartet was born.

The baritone saxophone makes for a challenging combo leader, in much the same way a football defensive back leads while waltzing a partner backwards. But Gerry Mulligan did it, and with a piano-less ensemble, no less. Epstein favors this same piano-less context, with Roupe's guitar providing the harmony.

The sheer musicality of this recording readily overwhelms releases contemporary with it. Epstein and Roupe are obviously friends, empathic and tuned in to one another's musical philosophy and craftsmanship. All ten selections on the disc are originals by either Epstein or Roupe—music firmly in the post bop mainstream, swinging freely and readily enjoyable, no digestion needed.

Epstein's tone is friendly and forceful, playing well to Roupe's soft and rounded electric guitar timbre. The rhythm section is captured sonic just behind the two principles, giving the entire recital a soft patina of resonance. All compositions are uniformly fine, playing to each participants' strengths and passion. This may be the definition of the Origin Arts Sound.

Track Listing

Sign of Four; Last Call; Space Acre; Ms. T; Cambodia; Miles Across; Tuca's Song; This Is; Fortune Cookies; Trekvarts. Blues.

Personnel

Ed Epstein: baritone saxophone; Bjarne Roupé: guitar; Göran Schelin: bass; Dennis Drud: drums.

Album information

Title: Sign of Four | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: Origin Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About 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 make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

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

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.