Billy Hart: Just

"Just" is an elegant album calculated to please. More than any earlier releases on ECM, it is Billy Hart's album, The quartet has been working together for over twenty years and has rightly morphed from a collective to the one steered by Hart. The drummer has supplied his sinewy rhythmic mastery to albums across the years with Herbie Hancock, Pharoah Sanders, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner and Stan Getz. Here, Hart is both the strongest voice, the innovator and the driver in the quartet. His strategic drumming is essential to the conversation; his musicality is evident on every track. There is nuance, fluidity, subtlety and attention to detail.

One way to listen to the album is to listen exclusively to the percussive interplay of Billy Hart with his creativity, complexity, ingenuity, always open- eared and sensitive to the needs of the group.

The delights that this album contains are numerous, intriguing and will last. The compositions from three of the musicians have variety, shape, tightness, lightness and structure. There is the fleet speed of "Aviation" to the delightful melody of "Billy's Waltz" and the great music of "Showdown."

Mark Turner's influence has become pervasive, although his sound owes more to a tenor of an earlier era, Warne Marsh. The timbre is dry, focused and he retains control of his sound in the most complex rhythmic passages. He is particularly stimulated by the percussive promptings of Hart. The almost feather lightness of Turner's approach is attractive and avoids the harshness of many contemporaries.

Ethan Iverson has an intellectual understanding of jazz and an appreciation of musical styles beyond jazz. He often seems to be approaching playing as an interested visitor to the genre. His solo technique is evident in all the pieces on the album and his four compositions reflect his explorative nature. As a pianist and accompanist, he is sometimes apt to overplay behind solos rather than allowing Turner the freedom to soar free.

"Chamber Music" by Iverson is a track to appreciate the beauty of the recording with drums, cymbals, piano individually defined with Ben Street 's bass featuring. Iverson chooses his notes carefully as Hart's brushes swish carefully under his solo. The meditative mood of Turner with his melancholy tone completes the piece. The subtlety of the drums and the quiet, complex rhythms are impressive.

A film noir mood pervades "South Hampton" initially with bass, piano pacing the way into the piece. It has a nice swing feel from Iverson going steadily forward aided by the ever-present Hart. This is Iverson at his most assured and, when Turner joins, his playing is complementary to the mood. There is one fine moment when Street and Hart play loosely together, evidence of their understanding and the many hours of playing.

This is an album where nothing is overstated, where cohesion is important, where influences are deployed carefully and individual brilliance is a given.

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