The 29th Street Saxophone Quartet was an American saxophone quartet. Established in 1982, the ensembles members are alto saxophonists Bobby Watson and Ed Jackson, tenor saxophonist Rich Rothenberg (in recent years, Willie Williams), and baritone saxophonist Jim Hartog. The group has performed an eclectic repertoire, including jazz, show tunes, funk, rap, and original experimental works. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s the band toured in Britain, Europe, Istanbul, Canada and in the United States.
In an early review of the band’s first extended engagement in New York City in 1984, John S. Wilson of The New York Times wrote, “The ensemble playing is clean, precise and tightly together, but the solos are filled with slashing, exuberant abandon. At times it is the very essence of loose, free jazz but it also uses the heavy, stylized sound of Stan Kenton’s saxophone writing. The four musicians are choreographed in shifting formations to spotlight soloists and in dance movements that extend the musical movements.”
The Glasgow Herald said “the ensemble’s cohesiveness and the high quality of solo playing made everything the four men played worthy of note.” The group maintained an international presence and recorded several CDs and is still in existence today. (by wikipedia)
The 29th Street Saxophone Quartet, a cooperative group that worked on and off into the mid-’90s before disbanding, made their debut recording in 1983 for Osmosis, a Dutch label. Although they had been working together since 1981 as a unit, they are still finding their way on this early effort, most of which was recorded live at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam. Each of the musicians wrote original pieces for these sessions. Alto saxophonist Bobby Watson, easily the most recognizable player due to his status as a prominent alumni of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, is also the quartet’s most accessible composer at this point, contributing two strong originals. Fellow alto saxophonist Ed Jackson (who had previously worked with George Russell, Ran Blake, and Jaki Byard’s Apollo Stompers) composed “Pointillistic Groove,” an uneven work with a conversational exchange between the horns and a tedious laughing sax routine that fails to hold the listener’s attention. Better is his stirring arrangement of “Anthropology.” Baritone saxophonist Jim Hartog penned the somewhat eerie “Still,” which makes great use of unison lines, as well as arranging the standard “Love for Sale.” Even though this initial effort doesn’t quite reach the heights of the group’s later recordings, fans of the 29th Street Saxophone Quartet will likely want to track down this now hard to find LP. (by Ken Dryden)
Exciting (partly free) jazz stuff !
Personnel:
Jim Hartog (baritone saxophone)
Ed Jackson (alto saxophone)
Rich Rothenberg (tenor saxophone)
Bobby Watson (alto saxophone)
Tracklist:
01. The Curious Child (Watson) 6.06
02. Pointillistic Groove (Jackson) 12.58
03. Still (Hartog) 6.50
04. Love For Sale (Porter) 4.52
05. Bigfoot (Rothenberg) 6.23
06. Anthropology (Parker) 10.13
07. One Chance At Life (Watson) 3.21
“The Curious Child” recorded live at Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht, The Netherlands, November 19, 1983. All other selections recorded live at the BIM-Huis, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, November 25, 1983.
A curiosity about this release – recorded in Amsterdam, manufactured in the US but with only a Netherlands record label address on the sleeve. Until a “manufactured in The Netherlands” version surfaces, it would appear that one printing serviced the world, hence the listing under “country”.
ManyFantasticColors 