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
"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
to original compositions from
Jones
. 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
sound as though they've been playing together for decades. ~ Adam Greenberg