In the mid-'60s golden age of free jazz, a group of sonic adventurers came together under the name of
the New York Art Quartet
, and though they didn't stick around long enough to burn their names into history to the same extent as peers like
Ornette Coleman
, or even the more "underground" stalwarts like
Bill Dixon
, the few artifacts they left behind are as bold and inspiring as nearly anything else from that era.
Dixon
, in fact, was the common connection for trombonist
Roswell Rudd
and alto sax man
John Tchicai
, who had both played with the trumpeter before forming
the Art Quartet
in 1964 with bassist
Don Moore
and drummer
J.C. Moses
. The rhythm section would go through a couple of changes during the group's brief lifespan, but
Tchicai
and
Rudd
were at the helm for both of the quartet's studio recordings. In 1965, Danish expat
went back to Copenhagen, soon summoning
to reassemble the group for a couple of concerts. This time around, they tapped Danish bassist
Finn von Eyben
and nabbed South African emigre
Louis Moholo
on drums. Finally seeing legitimate release 45 years later, the band's two Copenhagen gigs find them firing on all cylinders. Only a couple of tunes (
's barnburner
"Rosmosis"
and his more lyrical
"Sweet V"
) are reprised from the studio albums, but
brought a hot batch of new pieces with them, as well as an artful deconstruction of
Thelonious Monk
's
"Pannonica."
's forceful, searching lines move in and around the darting, visceral sax stings of
in a dance that's both elegant and explosive, suggesting how much more they could have done if they had remained a team.
Moholo
von Eyben
bring a new feeling to the group, with the latter alternating between perky walking lines and in-your-face flurries of frenzied notes as the moment demands, and
displaying the coloristic skills that would make him a legend of U.K. jazz in the years to come. Barring a one-off reunion decades later, these would be
's last recordings, as they went their separate ways shortly after the Denmark stint, but
Old Stuff
illuminates a whole new chapter in
's story, a chapter most folks never knew existed. ~ J. Allen