Rova – Resistance
June 3rd, 2025
The Rova Saxophone Quartet, or Rova for short, has been operating in the realms of post-free jazz and new music since 1977. One of the more recent releases in their rather large catalog is a CD called Resistance, belched forth in 2003 by Canadian improv label Victo. It features three long tracks and nearly an hour’s worth of purely acoustic music played with, as you may have guessed by the group’s name, four saxophones, a pretty good amount of reverb and nothing else. The title track, by Rova, dives headfirst into a lively crossroads jamboree where jazz and avant-garde classical meet, with its quasi-lyrical lines punctuated by squeaks and squawks; shrill, sustained clouds and raspy drones. The second track, “The Drift” by Larry Ochs, is considerably more jaunty and playful, while the album’s closer, “The M’ad-Din” by Wadada Leo Smith, is imbued with a somewhat more thorny and homely hue. Clearly and cleanly recorded with plenty of nuance and detail, this partly composed, partly improvised music breaks the rules of both forms in a most invigorating way.
Label: Victo Catalog Number: VICTO CD 086 Format: CD Packaging: Jewel case Tracks: 3 Country: Canada Released: 2002 More: Discogs
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