Jacob William Quartet - Secondary Deviations

Grego Edwards, gapplegatemusicreview

Jacob William plays upright bass. He assembled a quartet for a studio date that can now be had as the Ayler Download release Secondary Deviations. It's an hour of explorations in sound and feeling, with altoist Jim Hobbs and trumpetiste Forbes Graham holding full sway in various interactions with Willam and drummer Croix Galipault. The rhythm team provides solid support, not to mention some moments in the limelight here and there. A highlight, "Palm Dance," starts with bass riff and gets into a somewhat pointilistic free-funk thing.

It's good that Ayler seeks out relatively unknown and fresh voices on the new music scene. The recording at hand is of a piece with that. Sax-trumpet dialogs are a strong part of the set. This is a group which, collective and individually, could grow into something strong, given sufficient time together as a unit and, of course, enough opportunities to work together live. As it is they show promise and come through with very listenable results.