The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway receives its due credit on The BQE for bringing the two halves of this quartet together. It also appears in its own way through the music itself: ranging from dreamily slow to head-long fast, changing tempos and moods at a moment's notice. Sibirsky asserts that most of this record was improvised, built around spare compositional frameworks. Indeed, the openness of the quartet to evolution and devolution is the record's greatest quality.
While the members of the rhythm section (DeCesare and Mondlak) play their swinging due, the real focus of The BQE is the interaction between Sibirsky and Josefsbergwhich relies upon an advanced level of understanding. Trade-offs between head and solos occur spontaneously. These two players seem to have a near-magical ability to predict each other's moves and go with them, not knowing in advance exactly where they will lead. While one might expect more "togetherness" from a quartet arrangement, The BQE offers a tasty hint at the potential of Sibirsky and Josefsberg's playing outside this context.
Track Listing
The BQE; I Remember You; Give It Time; Sweet and Lovely; Sparta; Have You Met Miss Jones.
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.
We sent a confirmation message to . Look for it, then click the link to activate your account. If you don’t see the email in your inbox, check your spam, bulk or promotions folder.