Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Nathaniel Smith: Quartet

Nathaniel Smith: Quartet

By Bruce Lindsay
January 11, 2011
View read count

Quartet, the debut album from drummer Nathaniel Smith, has been a long time coming. Recorded in March 2007, almost four years before its release, the album features tunes which Smith began performing following his graduation from the Manhattan School of Music in 2003. In a music scene that often seems to view immediate access as a virtue above talent, seven years may resemble an eternity: but the music on Quartet is of a quality that makes it worth the wait.

Smith's writes melodic, tuneful pieces that predominantly reference mainstream and hard bop influences, but the young drummer adds plenty of touches that ensure these tunes don't simply come across as copies: the result, as Smith specifically acknowledges with regard to "Daybreak and then Dusk" and "Tortoise Pendant," of taking composition classes from

Dave Liebman

saxophone
b.1946

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Liebman.

The quartet's lead players—tenor saxophonist

Jon Irabagon

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Jon Irabagon and guitarist

Jostein Gulbrandsen

guitar
b.1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Jostein Gulbrandsen—are excellent interpreters of Smith's writing. Both are capable of fluid and graceful solo playing and are also in sympathy with each other, engaging in some thoughtful interplay. Smith and bassist Mark Anderson are an effective rhythm section, with Anderson's sparse and considered playing ensuring that there is always a reliable rhythmic center to each tune.

Irabagon, Smith's classmate at the Manhattan School of Music, is in fine form across the seven tunes—his swift, flowing and energetic solos on "Daybreak and then Dusk" and "Actionable Intelligence" are outstanding, as is his much mellower, more evocative work on Gulbrandsen's lovely "Tomorrow's Perfume."

Gulbrandsen favors a warm, rounded tone, whether he is adding background washes of sound or playing lead; an approach that balances well with Irabagon's harder-edged tenor sound. The second of Gulbrandsen's two compositions, "Return of the Bear," is an exceptional ensemble piece. Irabagon takes the lead, Anderson holds down the rhythm with economy, Smith adds some edgy but swinging drums and Gulbrandsen's chordal washes give the tune added depth. For his own solo the guitarist uses a slightly harder sound than usual, reverting to a warmer tone for the closing bars.

On "Shadow Puppet," Smith uses brushes to create a driving, lively, rhythm that seems to encourage the band to move forward, to look to the future. It's a positive end to Quartet, a promising debut album filled with music to admire and to enjoy.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Daybreak and then Dusk; Tortoise Pendant; Return of the Bear; Tomorrow's Perfume; Actionable Intelligence; Travishamockery; Shadow Puppet.

Personnel

Nathaniel Smith

Nathaniel Smith: drums; Jon Irabagon; saxophones; Mark Anderson: bass; Jostein Gulbrandsen: guitars.

Album information

Title: Quartet | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: Fresh Sound New Talent

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Modern Money Mechanics
< Previous

Darius Jones: From Johnny Hodges To ...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.