Before becoming a major jazz star in his own right, saxophone titan Joe Lovano came to prominence as a member of guitarist John Scofield’s late eighties four-piece. Forty years later, he’s teaming up with another six-string star, Julian Lage, as well as bassist Asante Santi Debriano and Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun, for another great quartet. Less dense than Lovano’s nineties combos, but also less ethereal than his recent work leading Trio Tapestry, Paramount Quartet trims the fat and works the muscle of its bop-based modern jazz.
Lovano’s “Amsterdam” kicks up a bit of a ruckus, the rhythm section keeping the floor shifting as Lage’s jangling chords set up the boss’s fiery yet melodic solos. “The Great Outdoors” embodies its theme, as the foursome lights out for the territories, exploring every nook and cranny of the tune’s harmonic structure. “Fanfare For Unity” nudges each musician further out, as Calhoun unleashes a controlled typhoon of snare and cymbals, Debriano finds every appropriate note on his fretboard, Lage picks harmonies that have little interest in anything so mundane as resolution, and Lovano interjects with clean, gnarly lines like a proud papa egging his charges on. The band digs into the more delicate side of life as well – the exploratory jazz of “The Call,” the playful twists in Charlie Haden’s “First Song,” and the shimmering beauty of Wayne Shorter’s “Lady Day” prove just as adventurous at half the tempo and volume as the more brash tracks.
In a celebratory mood by the end, Lovano closes out the program with “Congregation,” leading his cohort through the blues, funk, soul, and gospel indicated by the title. It’s a nice rounding out of a disk that sounds like the quartet found their chemistry, picked up their instruments, and had an absolutely grand old time.
