BILLY HART — One Is The Other (review)

BILLY HART — One Is The Other album cover Album · 2014 · Post Bop Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
snobb
It's no secret that during the last decade or so, most of the advanced ECM label releases all came from American jazzmen. Michael Formanek, Tim Berne and Craig Taborn are all among the label's forefront artists, always bringing some fresh air to the well refurbished ECM museum of chamber jazz.

Veteran drummer Billy Hart is another label newcomer. He has played with Pharoah Sanders, Herbie Hancock(1969-73), McCoy Tyner,and was Miles Davis' drummer on "On The Corner". Dave Holland, Eddie Henderson, Oliver Lake, Hannibal Marvin Peterson, Don Pullen and Dewey Redman all played on Hart's solo debut in 1977. With this sort of background, it would not seem that his energetic free, or even sometimes rock-influenced playing would have anything in common with the drier ECM aesthetics.

Two years ago, when Hart's long lasting project (Billy Hart Quartet), with pianist Ethan Iverson, bassist Ben Street and sax player Mark Turner, released their debut on ECM, it looked like the label was just trying to improve upon their successful American artists team. A well-balanced, but sometimes directionless post-bop effort, "All Our Reasons" didn't become a sensation.

Now, two years later, "One Is the Other" continues the line of its predecessor, but it's an improved one. One can't find memorable songs or unusual moves here, but on the plus side, an almost telepathic relation between all the quartet's members, plus quite complex and even quirky compositions, groovy, bluesy (at least for ECM standard) sounds all make this album an attractive new release.

Placed in the ECM program somewhere in between European chamber jazz artists and the more adventurous New York "new avant-garde" musicians, Billy Hart's music is a good choice for those who loves the ECM sound, but are a bit bored with their too safe well-polished groove-less "classic" albums.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Taylor Ho Bynum, Jacqueline Kerrod : Simple Ways Such Self Jazz Related Improv/Composition
TAYLOR HO BYNUM
Buy this album from MMA partners
Sanyas Hard Bop
STEVE TURRE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Pianohooligan : Critique of Swing in Two Parts, Pts. 1 & 2 Third Stream
PIOTR ORZECHOWSKI (PIANOHOOLIGAN)
Buy this album from MMA partners
Jason Stein, Marilyn Crispell, Damon Smith, Adam Shead : Spi​-​raling Horn Avant-Garde Jazz
JASON STEIN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Utopia Jazz Related Improv/Composition
OLIVER LUTZ
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Stablemates
RON BLAKE
js· 20 hours ago
Critique of Swing in Two Parts, Pt. 1
PIOTR ORZECHOWSKI (PIANOHOOLIGAN)
js· 1 day ago
FULL ALBUM - Oliver Lutz - Utopia w/ Leif Berger, Constantin Krahmer
OLIVER LUTZ
js· 2 days ago
Lift
DAVE WILSON (US/NZ)
js· 4 days ago
Nature is a Mother
CHARLIE PYNE
js· 4 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed