Without a drummer as adept as Tyshawn Sorey to negotiate its fractured rhythms, guitarist Travis Reuter’s Quintet Music would not have been nearly as exciting and enjoyable as it turned out to be. Enlisting Sorey, along with tenor saxophonist Mark Shim, vibraphonist Peter Schlamb, and bassist Harish Raghavan, gives Reuter plenty of choices in his arrangements. Sometimes Shim and Reuter are blazing up front over the vibes, bass, and drums rhythm team. At other points, like when Schlamb is laying down a furious vibes solo on #13 F34, the saxophonist seems to act as part of the rhythm section. There’s a lot going on all the time in Reuter’s music, and it can seem a trifle nervous at times. That’s only one reason to be glad for the three interludes, short features for Reuter, Shim, and Schlamb. They aren’t devoted to unaccompanied solos. Instead, each piece is focused on an individual instrumental voice as an oasis of relief in the midst of the more complex pieces. Of the longer tracks, I’m especially fond of Fast Louis, which starts out with an excitable guitar line from Reuter and deeply engaged responses from Sorey. The entrance of Shim and Schlamb, at around the two-minute mark, ups the ante considerably. Reuter’s wild guitar solo towards the end of #9 Low/High 1 is another exciting high point in the program. #15 and Carrico Real deliver a slam-bang finish to Quintet Music. I, for one, am sorely tempted to take a couple of deep breaths, and start back at the beginning. Highly recommended!
Self-produced (digital only); Mark Shim (ts) Peter Schlamb (vib) Travis Reuter (g) Harish Raghavan (ac b) Tyshawn Sorey (d); Brooklyn, NY, April 21-23, 2024, additional recording Bern, Switzerland, October 10, 2022; Same Song/ #13 F34/ Interlude 1 (Reuter)/ #8 D@z/ Fast Louis/ Interlude 1 (Shim)/ #9 Low/High 1/ Interlude 1 (Schlamb)/ #15/ Carrico Real; 45:17. www.travisreuter.com
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