Billy Hart, Ethan Iverson, Mark Turner & Ben Street - All Our Reasons (2012/2017) Hi Res

First ECM recording of a quartet formed in 2003. Originally billed as the Ethan Iverson-Mark Turner Quartet, it soon became the Billy Hart Quartet, and under this name has played shows to packed houses each year in New York City. The group’s first album for hard-bop label High Note in 2005 figured on many critics’ best-of-the year list. Since then, the ensemble’s music has gotten more free and spacious, a sensibility that aligns perfectly with ECM. While drummer Hart’s swinging beat and delicate cymbal tracery have previously been heard on the label behind Charles Lloyd and Bennie Maupin, and tenorist Mark Turner has appeared on acclaimed recording with the Fly Trio and Enrico Rava, “All Our Reasons” is a label debut for Bad Plus pianist Ethan Iverson and bassist Ben Street. Hart, Iverson and Turner all contribute material, which includes modern blues, a Coltrane tribute and an Iverson-penned homage to Paul Bley, the wonderfully-

The quartet heard here was formed in 2003, and originally billed as the Ethan Iverson/Mark Turner Quartet. When Billy Hart asked if it could be his band for a gig in his hometown of Montclair, New Jersey, the other members unanimously voted to give it him permanently. As the Billy Hart Quartet, the four musicians have continued to play a number of dates each year, often at New York’s Village Vanguard. In 2005 the group recorded a well-received debut album for hard-bop label High Note. Since then, as Ethan Iverson notes, the music has become more free and spacious, qualities that fit well with ECM’s priorities. “All Our Reasons” was recorded in June 2011 at New York’s Avatar Studios, with Manfred Eicher producing.

Billy Hart, of course, is no stranger to ECM, first recording for the label in 1974, with Bennie Maupin on the classic “Jewel In The Lotus”. For ten years a member of the Charles Lloyd Quartet, he can be heard on Lloyd’s “The Call”, “All My Relations”, “Canto” and “Lift Every Voice” – influential albums all. Tenorist Mark Turner guested with Enrico Rava on “New York Days” in 2008, also recording with the Fly trio in that year on “Sky And Country” (a second Fly disc is in preparation). Pianist Iverson and bassist Ben Street make their first ECM appearances with “All Our Reasons”.

Billy Hart, Ethan Iverson and Mark Turner are all featured as composers on “All Our Reasons”. Hart’s “Song for Balkis” begins the programme with an evocative drum solo, with Billy in freer mode, loosely swinging but also with a roiling sense of unpredictability which engages his fellow players – each of whom plays differently, and often rather beautifully - in this context. Mark Turner says of playing with Hart: “I feel I have more trust in myself and more trust in the beat than I would in other situations, and it has helped me grow a lot as a musician.”

'This nine year-old occasional quartet, nominally led by former Miles Davis and Charles Lloyd drummer Billy Hart, includes a young saxophonist growing in stature, Mark Turner, and Bad Plus pianist Ethan Iverson. If it has any affinities, they might be with Charles Lloyd's quartet, or the late Paul Motian's obliquely grooving groups. A sparingly present but incisive Iverson often plays solos that don't sound like jazz, while former Charles Lloyd drummer Billy Hart and bassist Ben Street appear to float (Motian-like) while driving the pulse. The themes often obliquely reference jazz but have a richer, more cinematic eloquence, too. On Ohnedaruth (John Coltrane's spiritual name), Iverson's wandering unaccompanied intro conceals Coltrane's famous Giant Steps, and triggers an astonishing up-tempo sax break over Hart's brushwork. Tolli's Dance is another Turner tour de force, erupting out of a Charles Lloyd-like dreamwalk. Nigeria is a jazz ballad that turns into a mid-tempo clip over Hart's cymbal swing. It's an A-list lineup, but focused on making unique music rather than parading technicalities.'