Abbey Rader's Generations Quartet

http://avantmusicnews.com/2012/12/03/amn-best-of-2012/

Many thanks to Kidd Jordan. He joined the band for a special performance in Miami at the end of October.

At 77, tenor-sax giant Kidd Jordan remains among the most soulful, probing, instantly creative musicians on the planet. His show last night with Abbey Rader's Quartet at PAX was the kind of explosive, rigorous free jazz that's long been his stock and trade. Imperturbably, the New Orleans native delivered one magnificent solo after another, melodic, well-shaped marvels that were bluesy and beautifully toned one moment, serrated and exploratory the next. Truly energized in Jordan's company, saxophonists John McMinn and Noah Brandmark were in peak form. McMinn's diamond-hard improvisations on the straight horn were fiercer than ever, and when all three horns engaged simultaneously, they reached ecstatic and rapturous heights. Anchoring the proceedings in terra firma, bassist Kyle Motl provided heartstoppingly swift pulses and exquisite arco work, in which he got some gorgeous resonances that almost resembled didgeridoo or Tibetan throatsinging. And what can you say about Baba Rader? The man is truly an unsung hero of free-jazz drumming, as he sensitively shaded and drove the whole shebang with muscular sticking, rumbling mallets, deft handdrumming and shimmering temple bells. Big thanks to Stephen Malagodi for yet another unforgettable night of extraordinary improvisational music, as rare as hen's teeth around these parts.

"Situated under the I-95 overpass on Eighth Street, the warehouse-turned-performance space PAX provides a fittingly gritty/artsy venue for the Generations Quartet. About one Wednesday a month, the group convenes at the Miami nightspot, showcasing a dizzying level of improvisatory daring." Read more ›

Abbey Rader and the band are this month's cover story in Jazz & Blues Florida. Read the article here ›