Touring and planning to record, Sophie Faught's Organ Quartet hits the Jazz Kitchen

Burning together: Sophie Faught Quartet at the JK 

Steven Snyder's florid but grounded approach to the Hammond B3 makes him an ideal partner on his adaptable instrument for the breadth and passion of Sophie Faught's honed technique and expression on the tenor saxophone. 

You could say about the same for the other two members of the quartet the saxophonist led Sunday night at the Jazz Kitchen. This is a group thoroughly attuned to one another. Guitarist Joel Tucker and drummer Jason Tiemann, a Louisville musician who made a few Indianapolis appearances before relocating to New York City, are equally simpatico and capable of covering a wide range.

The mythological symbolism behind Faught's "Ouroboros," which refers to the cycle of death and rebirth represented by a snake eating its tail, held up in performances in which the players fed into each other's renewal of energy. You feel they could go on and find freshness in any tune they might take up. 

Fortunately, there was a reigning sense of proportion Sunday that seemed to satisfy everyone, on and off the bandstand. A unanimity of effort came especially to the fore in the flooding group introduction to Wayne Shorter's "Deluge" before sax and guitar presented the tune in unison. After that, Snyder's solo especially raised the pulse.

"Ouroboros" was the only piece to feature solos by all four, ending with Tiemann's torrential yet nuanced turn. Faught's solo introduction had her typical warmth and vigor. Over the years, the way she has foregrounded pure heartiness and self-assertion has increased, though she keeps the tone focused and well-integrated whatever the  tempo and dynamic level. Some tenor players choose to treat ballads as a chance to cut back on their normal strength, but when she played "My Ideal" and "Alfie," Faught accepted the invitations to reflectiveness such tunes offer, while keeping the commitment of energy at her usual high level. 

There was also quite a bit of spontaneity in what may have been planned arrangements. They were certainly well designed in effect. The way Tiemann matched the ensemble's threading its intensity down to a simmer in "Feel Like Making Love" was extraordinary. The strength of the out-chorus in "Alfie" yielded to a surprising, meditative solo cadenza by the guitarist. Well, that made sense, I kept saying to myself in hushed admiration. 

Sometimes, when a solo nailed a particular kind of inspiration, as Faught  did in "Mellow Mood," the colleague's statement might come in out of the twilight, as Snyder did effectively  before turning his solo largely chordal. Snyder's "Midwest Minute" found Tucker lofting his solo thoughts like a coloratura soprano, an attractive feature that was fortunately not all about display, but about fitting in imaginatively. 

The upshot  of this generous set was that all the variety remained  a stirring exercise in compatibility, all players speaking with both individual and collective authority.

The quartet has a brief Indiana tour in progress up until the holiday. Everyone is going to have mixed feelings about this Fourth, but such an uplift as the Sophie Faught Organ Quartet provided Sunday evening can balance the badly mixed blessing of the imported fireworks to come.

[Photo by Rob Ambrose]