Seattle’s beloved subterranean music iconoclast Skerik has long found the city of New Orleans a balm for his inherently subversive musical instincts. Currently calling the Crescent City his second home, the saxophonist fully embraces this dichotomy between the profane and ritualistic with Compersion Quartet, for which he’s joined by pianist Brian Haas, bassist James Singleton and drummer Simon Lott. Recorded in New Orleans, the quartet’s debut collects a series of studio improvisations that are amalgamated in fits and starts of cinematic beauty, syncopated melodism and mystic sonic experimentalism.
Compersion Quartet is in many ways an outgrowth of Saucefest, the multimedia festival within a festival—founded and curated by Skerik—that happens annually on the middle Tuesday night of New Orleans Jazzfest when a disparate gathering of local and traveling musicians come together in various configurations for an evening of fearless, no-holds-barred musical collaboration.
“The history between the four of us goes way back, but this specific quartet would eventually come together through Saucefest,” explains Skerik. “I met Brian Haas in the early years of his trio Jacob Jazz Odyssey after he heard me with Critters Buggin. I used to play with Simon Lott in Malestrom Trio along with Brian Coogan. They were both part of the early Saucefest events. I started playing with James Singleton on Johnny Vidacovich gigs and in other combinations. He also did some early Saucefest performances. We share a related collective history. We all are from the same mother of music, siblings without rivalry.”
Throughout the album’s 11 tracks, Compersion Quartet explores deconstruction and rebirth, while undermining the math of music through the enigmatic human vibrations intrinsic to improvisation. Like the green lizard adorning the album’s cover art, just when the listener thinks they’ve captured the essence, its tail detaches and it escapes back into the unknown.
“To us, Compersion Quartet means to support each other and everyone on earth. Let’s leave it at that. I want there to be more mystery and less analytical talk about this music,” concludes Skerik. “There’s really no point in trying to describe the indescribable.”
Listen here - https://skerik.bandcamp.com/album/compersion-quartet-2
