In existence only since the beginning of 2018, the Caterpillar Quartet made a great first impression in June of 2020. Threads is the kind of fully-realized opening statement that usually takes several tries to nail down, but this adventurous foursome blends a variety of styles to make ostensibly jazz that’s often hard to neatly categorize when you dig deep into these songs.
Ken Kobayashi, the drummer, is the brainchild behind this band, a vehicle for some heavy improvising that doesn’t necessarily mean heated blowing sessions. He brought on board composer and bassist Jochem van Dijk, who has pulled both duties for the Fay Victor Ensemble. Saxophonist Henry Raker was just months out of high school when this band formed but already has an album out to his name (Rhythmic Observations) and brings a highly developed and nuanced style. Steve Holtje is another noted composer in the band; he’s created movie soundtracks and classical music, and he handles the keyboards for the Quartet.
“Intimations” is a spare, slow-moving song, but also signals that this band is willing to pull in a wide variety of music forms and on this song there are echoes of avant-garde jazz, minimalism and prog rock. Even classical. Kobayashi put both muscle and mental behind “Skronky,” his propulsive drums also keeping an elusive rhythm that’s both free and calculated. Also central to the feel of the song is van Dijk’s yawning, fuzzed-out bass. “The Machine In The Ghost” goes even freer, led by Raker’s anguished tenor.
That’s not an electric guitar on “Noir” but rather, van Dijk’s bass going up high in the register and handling the basic harmony while Holtje’s keyboard clandestinely handles the low end. Raker gets to stretch out and show good ‘n’ burly post-bop chops on the jazz-centered “Tempest,” a song that softly descends on Holtje’s flowing piano. On “Embers,” Kobayashi shows off a real funky swing while the rest of the band come into focus and Raker dances over the melody.
Lastly, “Inside Out” is perhaps the only conventional composition here, but it’s a pretty one at that, and instead of blasting over it or getting too fancy, Raker caresses it.
Threads is offered by Greene Avenue Music. Pick up a cassette or download of Threads from the Caterpillar Quartet’s Bandcamp page.
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