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BILLY HART QUARTET One is the Other ECM 375 9733

1. Lennie Groove

2. Maraschino

3. Teule's Redemption

4. Amethyst

5. Yard

6. Sonnet for Stevie

7. Some Enchanted Evening

8. Big Trees

Mark Turner - Tenor sax

Ethan Iverson - Piano

Ben Street - Bass

Billy Hart - Drums

Veteran drummer Billy Hart's quartet has been around for some ten years and this is its second recording on ECM. By no means dominated by the drummer, One is the Other, as the title implies, gives equal space to each musician in a context that is largely free of conventional structures. The result is some complex music and it took me several bouts of concentrated listening to respond to its demands. With the obvious exception of Some Enchanted Evening, all tracks are originals by Hart, Iverson or Turner.

The opening track, Lennie Groove, presumably in homage to Lennie Tristano, is immediately challenging with a formless, rumbling piano solo by Iverson. Maraschino is slow and ruminative with Hart pattering away with the brushes behind Turner's plaintive solo. It's not until the fifth track, Yard, that something more structured with a consistent rhythm is played. This could almost be mistaken for a Monk tune and has strong solos by Turner, Iverson and Street. Sonnet for Stevie is a languid piece with Turner's tenor sax sounding more like an alto as he explores the higher registers.

There are many Richard Rodgers songs that lend themselves well to a jazz treatment, but the lush Some Enchanted Evening, written to be sung by an operatic baritone, is not one of them. Turner gives a straightforward account of the melody while Iverson tinkles aimlessly behind him. Curious...............

Admirers of these four musicians may well find all this very satisfying but I have to admit it left me unimpressed.

George Stacy

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