The Michael Dolan Quartet - Cave Music (2019)

In the spring of 1991, The Michael Dolan Quartet began a regular weekly gig at a bar on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Michael Dolan, Ken Wessel and David Meer had been playing together since 1978, notably in the jazz quintet Cookbook and The Michael Dolan Band, a fusion sextet. Joined by Willard Dyson, the group began playing a mix of Dolan Band tunes rearranged for the sparser texture of the quartet, personal interpretations of standard repertoire and new originals. In late September, the group decided to try to capture its sound “live in the studio” by recording directly to a final two-track mix, without overdubs or the chance to correct mistakes. The result is what you would have heard if you came by to catch a set.

The tunes presented here fall into three categories. Dewey Square, Emily and I’m Old Fashioned are standards arranged to showcase the soloists’ musical personalities. Samba de Time, Not Just Yet and Riverside Strut are fresh explorations of familiar jazz forms (Latin, hard bop and funk, respectively.) Processional, Andante and the title cut, Cave Music, combine folksong-like harmonies with unusual rhythmic patterns, emphasizing the group’s spontaneity and collective improvisation. What unifies them is a commitment to music making that values individualism, risk taking and emotional expression.