Midweek pick, November 8th, 2023: Rob Brown's Oblongata
Rob Brown Quartet: Oblongata (RogueArt)
Rob Brown: alto saxophone, flute
Steve Swell: trombone
Chris Lightcap: double bass
Chad Taylor: drums
Altoist and occasional flutist Rob Brown is so tightly associated with the music of William Parker and Matthew Shipp for me that I sometimes forget that he has a substantial body of work under his own name. Noteworthy not just in terms of volume, but also quality. 2008’s Crown Trunk Root Funk, for example, is one I’d consider a minor masterpiece.
It’s always good to be reminded, then, that Brown continues to work on projects on his own. He recently released two new albums on the French label RogueArt: Oceanic, which consists of 8 intriguing solo saxophone pieces, and the even better quartet album Oblongata, recorded with long-time associate Chris Lightcap on double bass, alongside Steve Swell on trombone and Chad Taylor on drums. Oblongata is a delightful set of loose knit textures and freewheling intensity where the quartet lock into grooves and hooky themes just as easily as they tear away from them to explore new possibilities.