On the evening of July 8th, the jazz aficionados who stopped by the Cornelia Street Café (including the illustrious bassist Mario Pavone) had reasons to leave very satisfied with the quartet led by the respected multi-instrumentalist Marty Ehrlich.
Throughout the years, he has been embracing several projects, evincing an inclination for powerful quartets and bold large ensembles.
For this particular concert, Ehrlich has chosen to play some of his old and new compositions, proving why he’s one of the most multifaceted explorers of improvised music.

Before anything else, the leader introduced us to his peers: James Weidman on piano, Jerome Harris on electric bass, and Ben Perowsky on drums.

The quartet, entitled The Philosophy of a Groove, kicked in with “Line on Love”, an emotional tune whose title shows the way on how to …show more content…
The saxophonist, now on tenor, opted to discharge muscled sonic waves that thrilled and stunned; Weidman played quirky chords with his left hand and mixed them with melodic whirlwinds; while Perowsky set off in a powerful and edgy drumming trip that drew a few smiles from his bandmates.

“Rites Rhythm”, taken from the album “Things Have Got To Change”, started with Perowsky’s brushed funky beats and with the four musicians saying out loud these two words with attitude and a deep sense of activism (rites sound like rights). A bass groove and a piano ostinato were added by turns, forming a solid ground to receive Ehrlich’s steaming improvisation. Weidman and Harris also shone in their respective solos; the former, resorting to an appealing in-and-out concept, and the latter, allying percussive techniques with tuneful melodies.

The next tune boasted a consistently articulated clarinet introduction by its composer and was delivered at a daring 6/8 meter, intercalated with abrupt up-tempo