Daniel Carter/Matthew Shipp/William Parker/Gerald Cleaver

More closely matched than many combos that work constantly, this quartet of  accomplished free musicians embarks on another adventure in creative improvisation here with no slackening in skills or intention. Multi-reedist Daniel Carter, pianist Matthew Shipp bassist William Parker and drummer Gerald Cleaver are individually part of too many bands to count. Yet sonic strategies on these five tracks are not only profound and spontaneous but projected with relaxed flexibility.

Shipp knows exactly when to advance from comping to roll out glissandi or singular key clips; Cleaver’s ordered rolls, paradiddles or smacks effortlessly advance the beat; while Parker’s positioned plucks or sympathetic strums fill any open spaces. Despite being so-called free jazz, logical swing often pulses within the program.

Idiosyncratically identifiable on each horn, Carter meets Cleaver’s gravelly rumbles on “Blinking Dawn” with clarion runs from clarinet squeezes so high-pitched that they resemble brassy smears until they downshift to wallow in snarling, gruff and splintered reed bites. On “Worldwide” meanwhile, his tenor saxophone puffs are so subdued and tonal that they almost appear sonically woolly. Matched with lilting piano runs, these reed scoops jab through the fuzziness of the narrative to expose its hard core.

As each player adapts to instantaneous shifts and changes, each piece evolves logically, no matter if drum crash, string slaps, clarion reed tones or metronomic chording is emphasized. With each adaptation confirming the quartet’s group and individual skills, this Welcome Adventure suggests that it calls for even more cordial sequels.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Sunverified 2. Blinking Dawn 3. Mask Production 4. Worldwide 5. Da Rest Is Story

Personnel: Daniel Carter (trumpet, clarinet alto and tenor saxophones); Matthew Ship (piano); William Parker (bass) and Gerald Cleaver (drums)