Tomeka Reid Quartet: Old New
Cuneiform Records

Old New is an apt title for Tomeka Reid's second quartet album, the searing set a fine follow-up to her outfit's 2015 eponymous debut. From start to finish, the Queens-based cellist demonstrates a gift for writing melodically enticing tunes that feel connected to long-standing jazz traditions yet also burst with the vitality that comes from bold thinking and fresh approaches. The individuals performing alongside her are also critical to the recording's impact, with guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Jason Roebke, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara doing much to bring the leader's catchy tunes to life. The cello-and-guitar front-line generates delicious heat, especially when Halvorson complements Reid's playing with an ever-dazzling stream of invention; it doesn't hurt either that the guitarist and Fujiwara bring an extensive working history to the project, and the rapport between all four players is at a consistently high level.

Reid's star has definitely risen in recent years, and deservedly so. She's worked with flutist Nicole Mitchell since the release of her 2002 Black Earth Ensemble album Afrika Rising; the cellist has also recently performed with The Art Ensemble of Chicago and appeared on its recent We Are On the Edge outing. Others with whom she's recorded and played include Anthony Braxton, Taylor Ho Bynum, and pianist Myra Melford. Reid's formidable ability is reflected not only in the many outfits with which she plays but also the doctorate in music she received from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 2017.

The leader's playing is inspired, while Halvorson's instantly recognizable voice provides one of the recording's many pleasures. Her playing feels especially uninhibited in this context, Reid's charts providing structural form to the composition but also maximum room for individual expression. Fujiwara's the ideal drummer for the date, too; he's technically proficient, of course, but also someone whose playing never gets bogged down in overcomplexity. With Roebke the stabilizing force, all involved dig into Reid's material with ferocity.

Some of the album's best material appears early, starting with the title track, a rather simple piece, formally speaking, yet one that incites a fabulous response from the quartet. After Roebke and Fujiwara lay down a furiously swinging pulse, the front-liners state the theme in unison before venturing aggressively into freer territory—the kind of tune other jazz artists would be eager to add to their own set-lists upon hearing it. Shifting gears, “Wabash Blues” proves as melodically engaging, with Fujiwara augmenting a country-inflected theme with clippety-clop accents before Reid and Halvorson serve up wild solos, the latter dishing out signature liquefying notes and agile runs in a suitably head-spinning turn.

“Niki's Bop,” Reid's tribute to mentor Nicole Mitchell, is funky, too, so much so it almost qualifies as a body-mover, not the kind of thing one hears often said about modern jazz playing. A boppish flavour resurfaces a few tracks later in “Sadie,” which Reid wrote for her maternal grandmother and which oozes warmth and affection. A rather unusual kind of rhythm beast, “Ballad” advances with an almost martial strut, the lurching base providing a freeing foundation for elaborate statements by Halvorson (who apparently was a source of inspiration for the tune) and Reid. Some modicum of momentum's lost when a slower exploration such as “Edelin” appears, though it is noteworthy for granting Roebke an expanded forum to express himself.

December 2019