Sam Rivers Fluid Motion

Some jazz feels like it could go anywhere at any moment, latitude being the music's most enviable quality. Jane Ira Bloom's "Always Hope" is certainly distinguished by such a feel. Opening The Red Quartets with a swirl of sound from Fred Hersch's piano, Mark Dresser's bass, and Bobby Previte's drums, the soprano saxophonist creates nothing but liberty. As Hersch's foot pedal keeps his chords in the air, the leader's horn lines glide through them. Previte's cymbals match the pianist's pulse and sundry thoughts present themselves. "That piece basically introduces you to what we're about," explains Bloom, "which is adventure. I'm a bit of a sound searcher, and 'Always Hope' encapsulates that - if anything, it's a four-and-a-half-minute journey. My interests are in strong melodic motion and deep rhythm.