| Jazz |
When Freedom Speaks in Notes: The Freedom Art Quartet Redefines the Edges of Jazz
There are albums that impress, albums that challenge, and albums that defy classification altogether. First Dance, the latest release by the Freedom Art Quartet, falls into the rare third category, a project so daring in conception, so wildly inventive in execution, that it feels less like a jazz album and more like a journey through the untamed frontiers of musical thought.
From the opening bars, the ensemble lives up to its name with unapologetic flair. Rooted in a post-Miles Davis bebop sensibility, the quartet immediately pulls the listener into a sonic landscape that feels simultaneously familiar and foreign. What begins as an elegant dance with acoustic jazz soon gives way to something more volatile, more exploratory, music that tiptoes on the edge of free jazz, refusing allegiance to any one genre, except perhaps that of pure creativity.
Formed in 1991 and co-led by founding members Lloyd Haber and Omar Kabir, the Freedom Art Quartet stands as a testament to artistic conviction. Haber, a percussionist and composer, and Kabir, a multi-instrumentalist who moves effortlessly between trumpet, conch shell, and didgeridoo, have built a group that operates as a think tank for improvisation. “Our goal is to explore and create in depth, within the infinite dimensions of this art form,” they say, and this record is perhaps the most compelling proof yet.
First Dance doesn’t seek to please jazz traditionalists. Instead, it invites listeners to surrender themselves to a kind of organized chaos, where rhythmic foundations may appear deceptively simple, but the real architecture lies in the tension between layered motifs and overlapping solos. The effect is hypnotic. Even the most attentive listener may find themselves lost—pleasantly so, amid themes that rise, clash, dissolve, and return with renewed intensity. It is music that demands presence, rewards attention, and lingers in the mind long after the final note fades.
For those lucky enough to witness the group live, whether at a club, a gallery, or a university stage, the experience is even more immersive. The quartet has performed extensively across the United States and abroad, with appearances at major festivals such as the Heineken Jazz Festival, Fire Wall Festival, UVA Jazz Festival, and, more recently, the Hamptons Jazz Festival in 2022. They’ve left their mark on legendary stages: Smalls, the Knitting Factory, Jazz Standard. Over the years, the group has collaborated with luminaries like Ornette Coleman, Fred Hopkins, Ravi Coltrane, Roy Campbell, and Patience Higgins, further solidifying their place in the vanguard of modern jazz.
Current members of the quartet represent a convergence of formidable talent and diverse backgrounds:
Lloyd Haber, a student of the late Ed Blackwell, serves as the group’s percussive engine. Currently the musical director at Francis Lewis High School in Queens, Haber has shared stages and studio space with icons like Don Cherry, Craig Harris, and Charli Persip. His performance credits span from Symphony Space to Broadway-adjacent productions, and he even appears in the Oscar-nominated film Judas and the Black Messiah.
Omar Kabir, the brass alchemist of the ensemble, received training at the NC School of the Arts and the Manha Jan School of Music. His range is staggering—from winning Showtime at the Apollo to performing with the David Murray Big Band, Herbie Mann, and Cecil Taylor. Kabir also served as musical director for Cirque du Soleil and was an original cast member of Fame: The Musical.
Alfredo Colon, on reeds, brings the pulse of Washington Heights into the fold. Of Dominican descent and a graduate of the City College of New York, Colon studied under Lee Konitz and has performed alongside Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Dr. Lonnie Smith. His commissioned work, A Witch Gets Married, debuted online in 2020, revealing his deft hand as a composer and conceptual artist.
Adam Lane, the quartet’s bassist, studied under avant-garde icons Anthony Braxton and Wadada Leo Smith. A veteran of the experimental scenes in both the U.S. and Europe, Lane has collaborated with John Tchicai and Tom Waits, bringing a deep compositional awareness and textural richness to the group’s sound.
What makes First Dance so striking is not just its execution, but its philosophy. This is music made not to decorate a moment, but to interrogate it—to stretch time, expand emotion, and pose questions that cannot be answered in words.
When an album concludes and your mind continues to drift, still hearing echoes and fragments long after the final track, you know you’ve encountered something rare. That’s what First Dance delivers: a flood of extravagant propositions and improvisational adventures that challenge, thrill, and ultimately move the listener.
If beauty in art needs a name, then strangely, perhaps appropriately, that name might just be Freedom Art Quartet.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, May 16th 2025
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