A veteran drummer who has recorded only sporadically as a leader,
Billy Hart leads a group including two promising musicians from a later generation, pianist
Ethan Iverson and tenor saxophonist
Mark Turner, plus bassist
Ben Street. Since this was a working band for some time prior to the making of
Quartet, the musicians were already of one mind, rather than being thrown together and trying to make something out of brand new, unfamiliar charts. The opening piece "Mellow B" is a blues penned by
Iverson that suggests both
Ornette Coleman and
Edgard Varèse in spots. The leader brought several originals to the session, including the exotic ballad "Charvez," the exuberant "Lorca," (dedicated to his percussionist son) and the delicate, gorgeous ballad "Lullaby for Imke" (written for his daughter).
Turner's contribution is the meandering but invigorating "Iverson's Lullaby." The interplay between the four men and the intensity of their individual solos leave no doubt that this quartet has earned a return trip to the studio for a follow-up session. ~ Ken Dryden