Quartet (Santa Cruz) 1993 cover

Quartet (Santa Cruz) 1993

Released

Braxton formed this quartet — with pianist Marilyn Crispell, bassist Mark Dresser, and percussionist Gerry Hemingway — in the mid ’80s; a UK tour was documented in Graham Lock’s Forces In Motion, one of the best books about a jazz musician ever written. Close to a decade later, the four were still making incredible music together, combining his complex but evocative compositions into 30- to 40-minute collages/medleys that’ll spin your head around but good. There’s nothing dry or intellectual about this music; it’s raucous and exultant, and Hemingway’s drums boom like depth charges.

Phil Freeman

Recommended by

Suggestions
No Beginning No End cover

No Beginning No End

Joe Lovano, Kenny Werner
Night Reign cover

Night Reign

Arooj Aftab
Meditations cover

Meditations

John Coltrane
Bay of Rainbows cover

Bay of Rainbows

Jakob Bro, Joey Baron, Thomas Morgan
Westbrook-Rossini cover

Westbrook-Rossini

Mike Westbrook
Sun on Sand cover

Sun on Sand

Joshua Redman, Brooklyn Rider, Patrick Zimmerli
The  Transitory Poems cover

The Transitory Poems

Vijay Iyer, Craig Taborn
Melaza cover

Melaza

Scorch Trio
The Melodic Line cover

The Melodic Line

Vincent Courtois, Reverso, Frank Woeste, Ryan Keberle