Speak To It (Remastered)

A critically-praised landmark from the peak of downtown NYC jazz, newly sourced from engineer Joe Marciano’s original ¼” analogue mixes and transparently remastered to 24/192. The energetic performances and emotive compositions, by reeds players Chris Speed and Andrew D’Angelo, guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and drummer Jim Black, place this album alongside the finest recordings of the era.
– Mark Werlin, NativeDSD & All About Jazz

Originally released in 1996, the fourth recording by the then Brooklyn-based collective ranges across jazz, improv, and contemporary classical/new music, with a passing nod to the traditions of eastern Europe. As composers, Black, Speed and D’Angelo provide different frameworks for the band’s characteristic, often tensile explorations, heard as well in their atmospheric rendition of the Billie Holiday standard “Left Alone” where they’re joined by vocalist Holly Palmer. The rhythmic feel moves in and out of time (from jazz-rock to free, polyrhythmic and vamp to rubato), while the shifting textural/melodic interplay demonstrates their commitment to collective improvisation. The unedited analog recording vividly preserves the integrity of their playing; this 24/192, 2021 remaster was sourced from the rediscovered analogue mixes.