The Bridge Quartet - Day (2008)

Stemming from a missed gig and a somewhat hurried recording session following, Day introduces the Bridge Quartet, a collection of jazzers from Portland (and nearby) in their first collaboration. Particularly given their short history as a quartet, the sound is incredible. Phil Dwyer's sax keeps a solid tone, at home in a smoky nightclub, and takes hints from some of the greats but forges an identity of its own rather than simply emulating those greats directly. As hints of Coltrane come out in "Milestones" (appropriately) and hints of Sonny Rollins come out in "Strode Rode" (again, appropriately), Dwyer takes his own turns in the exploration of the scales as he solos. Alan Jones holds up a solid drumline behind the rest of the quartet, keeping to the strong bop and post-bop aesthetic that's formed (even interjecting a few Kenny Clarke-style klook-mop hits now and then). Darrell Grant alternates between his own explorations and simple comping, the latter of which is probably the stronger contribution to the album. The compositions are an excellent show of the band's influences and abilities, moving from worked up songbook classics to pieces from Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins to original compositions from Jones and Dwyer. The band moves effortlessly from one piece to the next, traversing each shift and each chord change as a cohesive unit. They'd only played together for a few hours, but this recording makes the Bridge Quartet sound as though they've been playing together for decades.

Review by Adam Greenberg