Label: Cuneiform Records, 2019
Personnel - Tomeka Reid: cello; Mary Halvorson: guitar; Jason Roebke: double bass; Tomas Fujiwara: drums.
American cellist Tomeka Reid, a recent member of the renovated Art Ensemble of Chicago, has emerged as one of the most original voices in the avant-garde scene with memorable collaborations in projects by saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, flutist Nicole Mitchell, and drummer Mike Reed. But don't think she earned credit exclusively from her work as a sidewoman since, as a leader, she outputted two wonderful quartet albums. Four years after her eponymous quartet release on the Thirsty Ear label, she appears on the Cuneiform Records with Old New, a record informed by musical eclecticism and featuring her longtime associates Mary Halvorson on guitar, Jason Roebke on bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums.
The title track starts off the session, loping with an infectious rhythmic verve created by Fujiwara and Roebke. The bassist's bouncing lines sometimes rest on surgical pedals, and the unorthodox melodies offered by the ladies make the fire burn. Their taut maneuvers can easily convert delicately punctuated expressions into wildly kinetic commotions.
Equally erupting with energy, “Niki’s Bop”, written for the inspiring Nicole Mitchell, denotes intelligible bop-oriented lines over the marching snare drum that paves the way. Dazzling melodic ideas flutter from the guitar and cello, repeating, echoing, and interacting with purpose until being renewed by new motifs. This is strangely liberating.
Enlivened by an adventurous groove, “Wabash Blues” explores unison lines before we hear Reid’s ingeniously warped entanglements. Yet, our attention becomes more and more fixated on Halvorson, who gets the things grooving with a smart comping and then takes off on an out-of-this-world atonal improvisation. Quirkier and more abstract is the percussive cello-drums introduction of “Aug. 6”, which evolves into an exulted sort of Afro dance peppered with elements of avant-garde, funk, and rock. It ends beautifully.
Tradition is scattered throughout and that’s pretty evident on tunes such as “Sadie”, an old-time swinger that Reid penned for her maternal grandmother, and “RN”, where enveloping sounds overcome the challenge of giving a new perspective to pop music, a genre she admires.
Crafted with an attractive electro-acoustic sound, Old New blends past and future with an open spirit, balancing softer approaches with cathartic spontaneity. It’s instantly likable.
Grade A-
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Old New ► 03 - Niki’s Bop ► 04 - Aug. 6