Novo Quartet

NOVO Quartet – like novo, “new.” The name reflects the curiosity and spirit of discovery that has already carried these four musicians, trained by Tim Frederiksen, to the podiums of the Geneva and Carl Nielsen competitions. Their debut album, Track 1, returns to their roots: Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8, the very first piece they studied together; HJERTEBLAD (literally “heart-leaf,” the seed’s first leaf) by Matias Vestergaard, which opened the door to contemporary repertoire; and Carl Nielsen’s First Quartet, a tribute to the “great Danish hero” and the starting point of an upcoming complete cycle.

Reissuing two essential albums from saxophonist Marion Brown - Why Not? (1968) and Porto Novo (1969) - the first recorded in NY in a quartet with pianist Stanley Cowell, bassist Sirone and drummer Rashied Ali, the second recorded in The Netherlands in a trio with Han Bennink on drums and Maarten Van Regteren Altena on double bass; essential.
Interrogative and exclamation are the punctuation for the pair of albums by Marion Brown on Why Not? Porto Novo! Revisited. Each fits its associative music, and the package documents the altoist at two distinct artistic junctures separated by just thirteen-months. The original albums have been in and out of circulation since their respective offing, but what makes this disc even more valuable is the commonality it shares with earlier reissue releases on the Swiss Ezz-thetics label…

On the heels of its successful Latin album, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ) mines the same vein with Brazil – seemingly a decision that diverges from its California pastiche aesthetic, but still one very much in line with the trends…