Jason Stein Quartet Lucille!

Jason Stein Quartet Lucille! on LP

In a review of Jason Stein’s debut album, The Story This Time (Delmark DE 2013) Jazz Times said “This record kills. The double-horn front line allows for torrid, bop-rooted synchronicity and numerous moments of unfettered exploration.” Stein understands the bass clarinet’s history and seeks to extend its comfort zone, and he’s not prone to move into the stratosphere, staying in the natural range on his instrument, but picking up the pace manually, the overland route, through force of will. Add to a couple tracks the contrabass clarinet of Keefe Jackson, which ratchets the sound down into the substrata a few notches, and the uncanny play between the anchor and the waves is even more pronounced.