The Esthesis Quartet is an all-woman jazz collective that brings together talent from L.A., Chicago, New York and Denver. This ensemble was actually formed during the depths of COVID lockdown, during which they couldn’t even travel over to play together for some time after their formation. Instead, they worked up rapport and camaraderie long distance. Once they were finally able to get in the same room and perform as an actual combo, the sparks previously held back exploded.
Esthesis Quartet (Orenda Records) is the result of that release. Tina Raymond (drums), Elsa Nilsson (flute), Emma Dayhuff (bass) and Dawn Clement (piano, vocal) pooled their collective talents not just to make a band, but a band ready, willing and able to hold back nothing, as this collection of a half dozen originals makes clear.
There’s no use picking out the hero of the bop-styled “Cricket” because they all are. Even when Dayhuff is taking the first solo — a funky, rangy excursion — Clement’s accompaniment is equally notable. Nilsson’s flute pokes and percolates as the song moves into a bridge and Raymond is the force behind the song gathering steam up to the final go-around of the head.
The capacious “Two Moons” has a Coltranian amble to it thanks to Raymond and Dayhuff’s exquisite work together, and Nilsson, Clement and Dayhuff take full advantage of the openness. Nilsson makes a bunch of hay for her solo stretch on “We Watch It All Burn,” fiery but always staying on point, leading into uncommon dual soloing from a rhythm section (Raymond, Dayhuff). “The Gardner” with its placid but driving beauty is led by Raymond’s brushes and brought to its full potential by Nilsson’s fervent flute.
Clement’s talents goes beyond just the piano, she can sing well too, and puts that acumen to use for two for the tracks. A breathy delivery keys “Partial,” a play on the dual meaning of the word, giving way to Nilsson’s shaking flute and when Clement returns to sing the chorus, it’s not with breathiness but with genuine vigor. For “Finding What’s Lost” she is singing without words, acting as an effective pairing to the flute, making both seem more lyrical in the process.
Tina Raymond, Elsa Nilsson, Dawn Clement and Emma Dayhuff have combined their skills as musicians and composers into making music that pushes and probes. The Esthesis Quartet has quickly established a signature sound that’s as pleasing as it is intrepid.
Get Esthesis Quartet now here from Bandcamp.
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