NEW RELEASE: In Motion Quartet's The Grind is out January 25, 2025
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Freely moving between bop, lyricism, and Dimension X
Led by Seattle-based saxophonist Steve Treseler and Bellingham-based trumpeter Kevin Woods, In Motion Quartet releases their debut album The Grind, an adventurous set of original music exploring propulsive grooves and the avant-garde. With a nod to the chord-less groups of Ornette Coleman, Dewey Redman, and Lee Konitz, the instrumentation allows the band the freedom to stretch harmonically and melodically, while maintaining an emphasis on rhythmic interaction and improvised counterpoint. Treseler and Woods seem to communicate telepathically, with a great sense of élan, curiosity, and vitality.
Saxophonist Steve Treseler is embedded in Seattle's jazz and creative music scene and travels for performances and residencies throughout the U.S. and Europe. His collaboration with the lauded trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, Invisible Sounds: For Kenny Wheeler on Whirlwind Recordings was named one of DownBeat's best albums of 2019 and featured in the New York Times. When Woods and Treseler met in 2014, the two connected over a shared affinity for Wheeler’s music.
Trumpeter, composer, and educator Kevin Woods is the director of jazz studies at Western Washington University. Victory Music Review describes his playing as “warm, expressive, and engaging” and has recorded six albums as a leader, notably Signals by Trio Linguae with guitarist John Stowell on Origin Records. Kevin is part of ongoing collaborative projects in the Pacific Northwest.
Treseler and Woods formed In Motion Quartet in 2019 with a monthly residency at Seattle’s Royal Room, exploring original material with a rotating rhythm section. In 2021, Treseler connected with King Dahl (bass) and Jerry Steinhilber (drums) through their former mentor, legendary saxophonist George Garzone. King and Jerry, who recently relocated to Bellingham, WA, have played and recorded together for decades since meeting as classmates at Berklee College of Music. Treseler says, “We all studied and played with Garzone, instantly connected through a shared aesthetic—freely moving between bop, lyricism, and Dimension X. Our first gig as In Motion gelled instantly.”
Highlights include the album’s opener, Treseler’s angular free bop composition Ricochet, which showcases the quartet’s ability to weave through open forms and collective improvisation with a straight-ahead feel. The title track, Forward Motion a.k.a. The Grind, expresses the struggle of our day-to-day lives through a mysterious groove, interactive collective improvisation, and the deep woody timbre of Treseler’s bass clarinet. Contrastingly, Woods wrote the playful Little Boo for his toddling daughter. A contrafact on Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm,” features a fluctuating tempo and frenetic solos.
The Grind takes us through the poignant melodies of Wood’s Ballade #2 and Treseler’s Western Oracle, and abstract sound textures in Treseler’s Magic Mode. Steinhilber contributes the hard-hitting tune Blue Note Maki. Originally written for a project with George Garzone, Blue Note Maki pairs hard bop grooves with ferocious and adventurous solos.
All accomplished artists as individuals, In Motion Quartet, is greater than the sum of its parts, letting intuition, big ears, and sense of adventure forge a unique voice in the jazz landscape.
The Grind releases on January 24, 2025
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Tracklist
1. Ricochet (6:28)
2. Magic Mode (6:11)
3. Blue Note Maki (5:04)
4. Ballade #2 (1:49)
5. Forward Motion a.k.a.The Grind (6:19)
6. Climb/Fall (4:45)
7. Western Oracle (4:54)
8. Little Boo (5:47)
9. Goodbyes (2:42)
1, 2, 7 Composed by Steve Treseler
3 Composed by Jerry Steinhilber
4, 5, 6, 8, 9 composed by Kevin Woods,
PRODUCED by Kevin Woods and Steve Treseler
RECORDED at Sharp Nine Studios
Bellingham, WA on November 19, 2023
TRACKING, Mixing, and Mastering
Brian Cunningham at Sharp Nine Studios, Bellingham, WA
Cover Design by Bob Fryer, Pop Ink Design Studio, Los Angeles, CA
PHOTOGRAPHY by Jim Levitt and Curtis Dahl
In Motion Quartet live at Common Tone Arts Concert Series
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