Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg on Quartetics by Reuben / Hanslip / Lash / Hession

The historic improvised music label Bead Records, founded by a collective around violinist Philipp Wachsmann (with Tony Wren, Peter Cusack, later Matt Hutchinson, etc.), has recently been revitalized and is offering new ideas under the direction of percussionist Emil Karlsen, featuring a diverse lineup of interesting musicians.

What can be said about this new Quartetics, composed of Federico Reuben (laptop improvisation / live coding), tenor saxophonist Mark Hanslip, double bassist Dominic Lash, and drummer Paul Hession? One might assume their music follows in the tradition of free jazz that we still hear everywhere at festivals and clubs—the eternal trio of saxophone, double bass, and drums plus electric guitar, keyboard, or electronics—that familiar idiom of avant-garde free jazz which can sometimes feel like a cliché.

I discover, however, that Mark Hanslip has seriously evolved since his collaborations with Javier Carmona, Tony Bianco, Ollie Brice, the Crux Trio, or Michael Garrick. His playing, artfully segmented with wide intervals, is quite distinctive. Faced with the crackling, irregular drumming of Paul Hession—a longtime collaborator of the late Simon Fell and explosive saxophonist Allan Wilkinson in a devilishly intense hard-free trio—Hanslip’s sophisticated playing and subtle harmonic inversions create an unstable balance and a striking contrast that highlights both musicians.

Add to this volatile equation the multifaceted sonic work of Dominic Lash on the bow, and we end up with a deepening of perspectives and breakthroughs in the fragmented universe of free music — music with no plan A or plan B.

Federico Reuben’s electronic contribution is entirely relevant, maintaining exchanges with the more radical free millimeter strikes of Hession, whose finesse and precision we discover in empathy with the dynamics and chaos of Reuben’s laptop improvisations with a multitude of sonic antics appearing out of nowhere. His output is particularly interesting and multifaceted.

A big plus for Hession: exciting free drummers are becoming increasingly rare among the younger generation. Over this, Hanslip’s breath traces its sinuous path across a polyrhythmic canvas supported by the impulses of the other three.

Their music, composed of voices that one would consider disparate or even antagonistic from a formal point of view, proves to be surprisingly coherent, dynamic, and deeply intelligible. The listener has the pleasure of clearly hearing all the individual contributions and interactions in the overall sound of this Quartetics across five collective improvisations spanning 33 minutes.

And yes, the quality of the recording and the craftsmanship of the instrumentalists! Each musician has leisure to cultivate their own quirks for the benefit of the whole.

I find this album truly remarkable. Congratulations.