Label: Self-released, 2022

Personnel - Miles Keingstein: trumpet; Declan Sheehy-Moss: tenor saxophone; Samantha Reiss: bass; Alex Yoo: drums.

Hailing from New York, the piano-less More Better Quartet is especially drawn to an improvisation-charged jazz in the line of Ornette Coleman and Old and New Dreams. Although not being exactly free, abundant moments of freedom are found on their eponymous debut album, which encompasses eight tight-knit compositions modernized with electronics and effects.

“Keepin It” makes for a great opener with a calypso-like groove whose bass figure is reiterated at every 12-beat cycle. It morphs into a 4/4 tempo to provide a different ground to the horn players - trumpeter Miles Keingstein and tenorist Declan Sheehy-Moss - who weave their free blowing style with a strong sense of melody. Yet, and this is particularly noticeable when we hear the saxophonist, the phrases are eked out with effective inside and outside routines. The piece gets playfully bluesy right before the reinstatement of that groove where everything started.

Drummer Alex Yoo stands out in the next couple of tunes. On the idyllic “Ignorance is Bliss”, his brushwork dances alongside earthy bass plucks and vertical slides offered by the bassist Samantha Reiss, whereas on “Untitled 04", he sturdily applies a few chops at the outset, anticipating the breezy melody, some fine Latin accents in the rhythm (the B section evoking Cedar Walton’s “Bolivia”), and another pair of solos by the frontline architects.

The quartet keeps the lively energy well in hand on “Public Alley”, where they dive headfirst into a frenetic swing, and “Dr. Jackle”, where they champion hard-bop and free bop with a graceful sync and electronic distortion. The effects and electronics are not much of an asset both on “Concoction”, which, under buzzing noises and gently blurred tones, has a rippling current that doesn’t change much; and “Forgotten”, whose insouciant spirit includes bowed bass and discontinuous drumming.

Firmly performed, this album breathes life with an adventurous, if familiar, posture that showcases the quartet’s tight musical communication.