On Sunday afternoon, the Bob Nieske 4 played a full concert of original compositions and improvisations from their new CD One, Two, Free, Four! in the Slosberg Recital Hall. Performing were Dave Tronzo, guitar; Phil Grenadier, trumpet; Jon Hazilla, drums; and Prof. Bob Nieske (MUS), bass. They captivated the audience with works of varied character and genre, all of which fit seamlessly together into a creative and stimulating musical narrative. The group's casual performance style created a more intimate atmosphere than one usually finds in a concert hall, allowing each person present to participate in this exploratory process of musical authenticity and of music's inherent power.

One of the most striking features of the performance was its exploration of musical expression; that is, the distinct musical character of each individual's playing, the dialogue between the instruments and the ensemble's combined sound. Through many different forms, they broke down standard musical ideas into their most basic elements, and reconstructed them into a sumptuous palette of rhythm, texture and harmony. Where a good musician usually uses his or her instrument to share a narrative using varied melodic and textural development, these expert musicians played as if deferring to their instruments' own stories. In much of Western music, artists limit the endless musical possibilities of instruments in order to create a coherent story in music, so that one can find powerful, even if artificial, meaning. The Bob Nieske 4 opened themselves up to the authentic and inherent musical forces of each instrument and ensemble. Each musician explored his own instrument's unique qualities, as well as each instrument's relationship to the others, often expressing more with a single sustained note or even silence than is possible utilizing an instrument's full capacity. When they played together, their sound had a robust, sonorous quality that filled the hall with pure, powerful music.

The quartet achieved true musical authenticity, whether in the improvisations or the more conventional selections, in the way that, regardless of melodic content, their music propelled itself by its own latent momentum and development. Whether this quality speaks to the nature of jazz improvisation or whether this genre simply exposes a quality of music that other styles obscure or mask is unclear, but either way the music is honest and accessible on many levels. In the absence of certain musical landmarks that we naturally listen for to make sense of a piece, listeners are forced to accept the music at face value and appreciate each musical moment as its very own piece of artistic expression.

Nelson's "Contact," a piece of "moment music," most fully expressed the character of the performance. "Moment music," as Nieske explained, challenges Western musical conventions that restrict musical combinations to those that are "pleasing to the ear." Moment music dictates that any tones complement each other because each expresses inherent beauty and because music exists at every point in aural and temporal space. More than a melodic narrative, "Contact" was more of a mosaic of tones and textures that showcased music's latent beauty. Rather than simply underlie an artificial construct of melody or form, this powerful dimension of music was fully exposed for its own sake, which, in many ways, is the ultimate goal of art. Rather than being a representation, this music was simply an expression. Music exists for its simplest intended purpose, such as melody or variation, but also to transcend form and exists in absolute terms. Many of the improvisations adhered briefly to form simply in order to depart from it, and together the instruments created a beautiful landscape of varied qualities and modes.

The listener could focus on both a fleeting melody or rhythmic gesture as well as the magnitude and complexity of the complete piece. These improvisational works recast even the more conventional jazz pieces in a new light, exposing the sophistication and depth latent in all music. Appropriately enough for Brandeis, this innovative and creative performance left the audience with promises of finding art and expression in new contexts, and even outside of the concert hall.

Perhaps this provocative music is a metaphor after all because in the way that it extends beyond its normal limitations to inspire, so too can beauty exist beyond its conventional forms, so long as a person knows what to look for.
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