Label: Smoke Jazz Sessions Records, 2025

Personnel - Mark Turner: tenor saxophone; Ethan Iverson: piano; Ben Street: bass; Billy Hart: drums.

Serving as a celebration of his upcoming 85th birthday (November 29), the incomparable master drummer Billy Hart—whose musical sensibilities continually surprise regardless of context—releases his first live album with his esteemed quartet: tenorist Mark Turner, pianist Ethan Iverson, and bassist Ben Street. Multidirectional was recorded at NYC’s Smoke Jazz Club, featuring previously recorded material—including originals from three members of the quartet and a cover—that gains fascinating new perspectives and colors in an ode to both discipline and freedom.

Hart’s “Song For Balkis”, written for his daughter and originally included on the album All Our Reasons (ECM, 2012), begins with the drummer’s tom-tom prowess before shaping into a lyrical tone poem. Under the spell cast by the rhythm section, Turner unfolds a logical narrative, followed by a solo piano moment in which Iverson induces placid, dreamlike states with a sky-falling sequence of notes. The mood darkens slightly, and Turner returns with another inspired improvisational discourse. The piece is subtly reconfigured at the end with sophisticated, classical-leaning alignments. Hart also brings “Amethyst” to the lineup, taking a rubato, balladic orientation from the outset before crossing into abstract modal jazz and avant-garde territories, with Turner leading the charge. Iverson responds astutely over a stirring bass-and-drums chain.

The group drives listeners to many unexpected places, and their take on Coltrane’s classic “Giant Steps” is another prime example. Iverson’s intriguing introduction signals that they intend to approach the tune from a new angle—and they do. The dancing groove created by Street and Hart can either hold in pedal points or swing forward, and Iverson’s motivic structures and outro are remarkable.

Turner and Iverson each contribute a composition. The saxophonist wrote “Sonnet For Stevie” for Stevie Wonder, and the quartet’s rendition of this 2013 piece delights both collectively and through each individual statement, swinging and grooving with its own distinctive character. The pianist’s “Shoedown”—the opening piece of the quartet’s previous album Just (ECM, 2022)—is a strikingly beautiful ballad played at a comfortable tempo, with everyone performing from a place of deep conviction.

With musicianship running in their veins, the Billy Hart Quartet radiates elegance and wisdom at every turn. The drummer’s vital energy, unconventional technique, and refined taste remain nothing short of awe-inspiring.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Giant Steps ► 03 - Sonnet For Stevie ► 04 - Amethyst

Label/Year: ECM, 2017

Lineup – Aaron Parks: piano; Ben Street: bass; Billy Hart: drums.

Find The Way, the second ECM outing by praiseworthy American pianist Aaron Parks, flows steadily and unhurriedly as it keeps creating generous settings, each of them with delightful nuances to be discovered and savored. Opposing to his previous Arborescence, recorded solo, the new work flourishes in a classic piano trio with bassist Ben Street and drummer Billy Hart providing reliable substrative integrity.

Both “Adrift”, the opening tune, and “Unravel”, which expresses a doleful sincerity, shine with Park’s soft and nice touches, conveying a fluid lyricism over a dawdling melancholy that recalls the style of Steve Kuhn and sometimes Bobo Stenson. Hart’s percussive work is outstanding on that first tune as he molds his own textures, changes, and readapts them once more according to what’s happening around him.

Far more static and stripped to its essentials, “Hold Music” exhibits harmonic voicings in rotation with the bassist playing straight like in a pop/rock song and Hart losing himself in that percussive airiness that forces any sturdy surface to bend and quiver.

Covered with glossy splendor, “Song For Sashou” immediately detaches from the whole due to a rich combination of melody and harmony on top of a foundation carrying a gently brushed bossanova touch attached. This piece ranks right below “Alice”, a powerful piece inspired by the modal journeys of Alice Coltrane, in the competition for the most outstanding piece on the album. On the latter, one can find the bassist adventuring himself in unexpected portions of the song, always in the company of the inventive drummer, whose pulse acquires a rock flow that vehemently drives us to a dramatic finale. The liquidity in Parks’ progressions bestows the same effect as an oasis in a desert, irrigating and nourishing on all sides.

While “First Glance” craves a sluggish awake and fulfilling quietude, “Melquíades” results in a Bill Evans-like mood. Not that the breathable, spontaneous lines of Parks sound similar to the acclaimed pianist, but because of the harmonic movements and diaphanous suspensions.

The title track is the only cover on the album, closing it with abandoned benediction. It was composed by pianist Ian Bernard and popularized by Rosemary Clooney, for whom the song was written.

Aaron Parks and his trio don’t have to move fast to dazzle. Floating and never atonal, Find The Way sets the abstraction levels to the minimum and marks stretches as non-priorities. It’s a modern creative work with a profound, strong personality that will make many listeners feel good.

Favorite Tracks:
02 – Song For Sashou ► 06 – Alice ► 09 – Find The Way