For the past several years saxophonist Rich Halley has
reliably released a series of excellent acoustic jazz albums with his quartet
consisting of Michael Vlatkovich on trombone, Clyde Reed on bass and Carson
Halley on drums. The music is reminiscent of the early Ornette Coleman quartet,
with short themes giving way to wide open improvisational fields for the band
to explore collectively or individually. “Retroactive” opens the album with a
bracing theme and Carson Halley’s powerful drumming pushing Vlatkovich’s solo
spot. The elder Halley takes the helm for a spiraling saxophone solo, pushing the
tempo faster, before his son takes a deeply percussive solo and eases the music
outward. “Radioactive” follows, just as strong, with torrid and ripe saxophone
soloing over strong and supple bass. Tight and loud trombone and drums follow,
and the music settles into a fine concluding groove. “The Dugite of Strikes”
has an urgent tone of bowed bass and harmonized horns before Halley breaks out
with a complex saxophone feature that grows in power and majesty. Flighty horns
usher in “Glimpses Through the Fog” and they grow faster as Carson Halley’s
drum playing reaches John Bonham like intensity and drives his father’s saxophone
ever forward. There is a well thought out trombone feature supported by
excellent elastic sounding bass, before Halley comes back with some of his
freeist saxophone playing on the album before the music suddenly drops into a
closing melodic coda. “Adjusting the Throughput” also comes rampaging out of
the gate with the band plowing forward, Halley’s fast saxophone solo climbing
skyward with a fiery blast, and bass and drums equally fast and powerful full
band back and fast out. “Convolution” develops a proud strutting theme, and
features some a biting saxophone tone and thick bass, which explore the musical
landscape before spitfire trombone and rapid fire drumming develop rhythms that
work together well. “The Animas” comes bounding out with strong brass and drums
letting Halley’s saxophone loose and he gets a freer sensibility, sounding raw
and excoriating in an extended in a very impressive solo. Vlatkovich‘s strong trombone
follows with hollow sounding drums making for a cool combination. This is a
very good jazz album, playing in a freebop manner that in continuously exciting.
It is to Rich Halley’s credit that he has developed a working band that has
great empathy for each other but never falls into patterns, always keeping the
music fresh and invigorating. 
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