Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Esthesis Quartet: Time Zones

32

Esthesis Quartet: Time Zones

By

View read count
Esthesis Quartet: Time Zones
Time Zones is the second album by the Esthesis Quartet, comprised of four accomplished women, all whom do indeed reside in different time zones. Flutist Elsa Nilsson, originally from Sweden, lives in Brooklyn, NY; pianist/vocalist Dawn Clement makes her home in Denver, CO; bassist Emma Dayhuff lives in Chicago, drummer Tina Raymond in California, where Time Zones was recorded.

The four first met at various festivals, conventions and other sessions around the country, drawn together by a mutual love for improvised music and a willingness to take creative risks. During the first Covid lockdown they met via Zoom to share their compositions and ideas, the fruit of which was their first album, Esthesis Quartet (Orenda, 2021).

The new recording consists of seven original compositions, three by Clement, two apiece by Raymond and Nilsson. The opener, Clement's "Blue Light," was inspired by blinking traffic lights while driving home alone at night. Its pensive introduction gives way to a spirited midsection punctuated by Nilsson's animated flute before returning to its more solemn onset. Raymond's dancing "Brush Fire" recalls the disastrous Woolsey fire that burned nearly 100,000 acres in 2018, while Clement's tranquil "New Yorker" (on which she sings) is based on the poem "Scylla and Charybdis" by Megan Fernandez.

Clement's lively blues, "Hollywood," applauds the nickname given to her by drummer Matt Wilson. Her solo is bright and clever, as are her appearances elsewhere. Raymond authored the shadowy "Serial," inspired by the podcast of that name (and using what seem to be electronic enhancements to make its point). Nilsson composed the last two numbers, "First Light" and "Getting Through," the former exemplifying one's first peaceful moments on awakening, the latter (originally a ballad) presenting a powerful and fast-paced glimpse of hard times, self-imposed or extraneous.

Individually and collectively, the members of the quartet are exemplary, the music commendable and at times more than that (especially the finale, "Getting Through," on which everyone excels). In sum, an inch below "excellent" but knocking hard at that door and well worth hearing.

Track Listing

Blue Light; Brush Fire; The New Yorker; Hollywood; Serial; First Light; Getting Through.

Personnel

Album information

Title: Time Zones | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: ears&eyes 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.