Following a long stint as a sideman in NYC with leading jazz musicians and being mentored by Ben Monder and Arturo O’Farrill, the currently residing Zurich, Switzerland guitarist and composer Travis Reuter returns. He gained notice with his 20212 debut, Rotational Templates, and now, twelve years later, we get his follow-up, Quintet Music. It’s similar in instrumentation with vibraphone (Peter Schlamb) instead of Rhodes and Mark Shim on tenor saxophone, along with the top-shelf rhythm tandem of Harish Raghavan and drummer/composer Tyshawn Sorey. Reuter is bent on defying convention regarding form, rhythm, or the standard comping that usually accompanies soloists. Instead, underneath the improvised solos lies complex written music. His imaginative approach demands the elite skills that this quintet possesses. The labyrinthian pieces are challenging but rewarding to listeners who appreciate unpredictability and novelty.
The guitar, tenor saxophone, and vibe form a three-headed voice that is rare in jazz. This writer is at a loss for reference points, yet plenty of examples of piano, sax, and vibes exist. That alone gives this album a different glow. The album is constructed so that most of the material revolves around this triad interplay with “Interludes’ mixed in, which serve as solo excursions for each. From the outset, we hear the angular, agitated, start-stop rhythm patterns in “Same Song” with an especially fierce attack from Shim. One can easily be fascinated just by focusing on Sorey, a modern-day legend on the kit. “#13F34” begins as a feature for Schlamb, who dances all over his vibes, with defiant answers from Shim and Reuter as the rhythm tandem percolates relentlessly. Reuter dazzles in “Interlude 1” before flipping the script on “#8D@z,” where the bassist sits out as the tenor and vibraphonist spar over repeated ostinatos stoked by Reuter and Sorey. “#15” is similar conceptually, though the full quintet is intact. Here, the tenorist and guitarist are in vigorous dialogue while the vibraphonist works with the bassist and drummer to form the rhythm section. The quintet sustains a continual flow throughout the shifting tempos and polyrhythms, often powering through like a barreling locomotive.
“#9Low/High 1” is an exception to the above. Reuter employs a technique that he terms ‘temporal deception,” achieved by certain instruments leaving spaces in their passages to interrupt the tempo, but other quintet members, typically Sorey, pick up the slack so there is never really an overall lag. In fact, one would be hard pressed to find a lagging or pensive moment in this program. These cats are charged up.
“Fast Louis” also stands out for its four individual expressive solos from Reuter, Shim, Schlamb, and Sorey in that order. The piece is inspired by Louis Andriessen’s opera De Materie, which Reuter learned after moving to Europe and later had the opportunity to perform in its U.S. premiere. “Fast” in German means “almost.” Reuter equates the multiple statements and how each reinvents the other’s solo to his fast-paced life transitions of moving to Europe, learning German, and celebrating fatherhood.
Shim and Schlamb each have their own “Interlude,” and the program concludes with the angular “Carrico Real,” the full quintet locked in with Shim blowing his fervent clusters over a dense, kinetic undercurrent before yielding to the leader who maintains a similar burning intensity. The piece also features both sections of unison and contrapuntal playing, as if to tightly summarize the highlights of what has transpired in the preceding material.
Reuter’s music remains on the boundary of ‘out’ and ‘in’ throughout, taking improvisation to its highest levels while offering riveting exchanges among those not taking the lead voice. This is not the kind of music one would choose for relaxation, but it is a great choice for jogging, walking, or working out. It’s constantly in flux and may give you the energy boost you need. In short, this is fast-paced improvisational jazz of the highest caliber.
