Short bursts of staccato African-influenced guitar, a blistering muted trumpet and off-tempo drums sounded through the Slosberg Recital Hall this Saturday. This was not your usual jazz concert; conventions regarding swing and form were abandoned as the band pushed itself on each song. Prof. Robert Nieske's (MUS) quartet of jazz veterans that includes Phil Grenadier on trumpet, Jon Hazilla on drums and Dave Tronzo on guitar played its ambitious set, "Music By Chants," to an eager, close-knit audience this weekend. The Bob Nieske Four's repertoire consisted of unique interpretations of jazz standards, free jazz improvisation and original tunes composed by Nieske.

A highlight of the show was the quartet's rendition of Wayne Shorter's classic piece, "Footprints." Rather than playing the normal bass line, Nieske modified it just enough to keep it familiar but creative. With the band playing behind the beat and the trumpet melody sounding out proudly through the hall, the musicians created an airy vibe that stayed with me through the night. These ephemeral moments of sheer beauty were shared many times between the band and the audience during the performance. When I occasionally looked around, the rest of the audience members was doing the same as me: closing their eyes and enjoying the music.

The band also played "Sets of Four" of free jazz music, a style of jazz without structure or melody. Nieske introduced the concept as "free playing with direction" and cited the ever-popular problem of never being able to finish a song in the style of free jazz. These "Sets of Four" free songs solved that problem by using a simultaneously coordinated ending. In between each song, the band members would change their instruments, discover a new timbre and play something quite like nothing before. These included a wide arrangement of percussion instruments including a clay Hadgini hand drum and various guitar effects including delay, distortion and even playing with a plastic cup. On one song, the guitarist looped a radio announcement through his amplifier, and as the drum and bass played a frantic fast-paced groove, I immediately imagined an airport with people hustling to catch their flights.

Of course, the main part of the show was Nieske's own compositions. He described the composition process as "sitting in front of a TV with [his] bass and writing tunes between the innings of the Red Sox games." These tunes differed from the other compositions and usually started with a mesmerizing, repetitive bass line that Nieske would play while the band joined in one at a time. The band also made sure that the song would fit on a little piece of paper, as it gave them more time to improvise and spend less time rehearsing it. These songs were when the band sounded most confident; not only did the musicians each push their own limits, but they also challenged each other to play daringly. Tronzo would play a rhythmic motif and as Hazilla picked up on it, they would slowly transform the entire song and take it somewhere else entirely. However far they went out of the original song, they would always somehow bring it back to the chorus and end at the same place.

Nieske explained that he and Grenadier, the trumpeter, had been playing together for some 15 years. He equated the performance as a conversation between the four musicians, in which everyone got his say and knew when to play—or, more importantly, when to not play.

"We all love playing to that point where we don't know what's coming next," Nieske said. "That's when you have to really let go."

Grenadier agrees. "We make things out of these set of finite materials, our instruments and tones, … but the combination of those set things can sometimes be infinite."

Nieske summed up the night's ambitious performance in a couple words: "You have to be somewhat fearless." With a band of this caliber and chemistry, being fearless was all it took to create an outstanding jazz performance.