June 1998

Peter Kuhn Quartet
The Kill
Soul Note

By Duck Baker

This disparate group, joining Kuhn, Wayne Horvitz, William Parker and Denis Charles, leads off with a ragged-but-right freebop original that makes me think of a jug band playing "Miss Ann." The rest of the material is freer and the band doesn't always congeal, but these are great payers and there is plenty to be happy about, from the leader's strong Bb and bass clarinet work to Charles' almost down home sound. Horvitz and Parker are particularly strong.