Thursday, August 14, 7:30 pm
Tony Grasso Saxophone? Quartet!
Chapel Performance Space
Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N
$10 general admission
The Tony Grasso Saxophone? Quartet! has always been a surprising unit – after all, among its three saxophones is one trumpet: Grasso’s. After nine years of honing its sound, the quartet is stunning. He and his band mates have honed a sizzlingly-tight sound in which Grasso’s compositions serve as springboards to free improvisation. But listeners will often be hard-pressed to determine where composition ends and improvisation begins.
That effect stems in good part from the extraordinary precision and cohesion of the band, each of whose members has a long history in local jazz.
The quartet has two self-produced albums that present compositions drawing from jazz and classical-music influences, at times dissonantly or humorously but always captivatingly.
More info on the Earshot website.