Tip! *350 copies limited edition* The Tomeka Reid Quartet - dance! skip! hop! (OOYH 041) releases February 13 2026 (LP/CD/limited streaming) on Out Of Your Head Records, featuring the steady quartet of Tomeka Reid (cello) with Mary Halvorson (guitar), Jason Roebke (bass), and Tomas Fujiwara (drums). Soon after finishing these compositions in June 2025, Reid realized that much of the music made her want to dance. Inspired by the title of Josh Berman’s stellar A Dance and a Hop, as well as her tendency to skip in public, the title dance! skip! hop! was born. Reid has a deep connection to her family, and her album art and song titles often pay tribute to them, with the art for dance! skip! hop! featuring her great grandmother Francis Elizabeth Bean, her grandmother Estelle, and her great Aunt Cece throughout. Having visited the paternal side of her family in Wyoming for the first time in 2008, Reid was immediately struck by the house of her great grandparents, which her Aunt Cece and siblings fashioned into a kind of family museum full of photos of family gatherings from generations before.

Because she didn’t have much connection to her biological father’s side of the family previously, she used this as a chance to connect as an adult, and strengthen her understanding of the family’s history. Using these photos is a way for Tomeka to show the importance of family in her work, and for the images to live on for future generations. Both the compositions and improvising on dance! skip! hop! are as exceptional as you would expect from one of finest regular working bands in jazz and creative music. The quartet sounds more refined than ever, but also takes chances that only a band that has logged countless hours touring together can, with a playful spirit that the title suggests. They seem to one-up themselves with each successive album, and given the international acclaim 2024’s 3+3 rightfully received, dance! skip! hop! is sure to be hailed as one of the best of 2026. 

a (ways) for CC and Cece is a dedication to two very important people in Reid’s life. CC aka Clarence James, a regular at Fred Anderson’s Velvet Lounge and huge supporter of the Chicago scene, passed away in 2018. Reid says “Although he was not a practicing musician I learned so much from him…whenever I would leave his apartment he would say, “play loud, kid!” I miss him dearly.” Reid’s Great Aunt Cece, who just turned 90 this past summer, has also been a huge source of inspiration, especially in the past 5 years. Reid continues “I did not grow up knowing my family on my biological father’s side and really only got to know them over the past 20 years or so. During the pandemic, I took care of my grandmother, Estelle Crouch (Cece’s sister), and while it was one of the hardest experiences in my life thus far, it was also really beautiful and I now realize what a blessing and gift it was to look after her. Aunt Cece was by my side every step of the way. She really loved her big sister, who would have turned 100 this year.”

Oo long! is named for a restaurant in Düsseldorf called Soba-An, which Reid visited when she was an artist-in-residence in Moers. “I was lucky to eat there maybe 3 times. It’s a very small space and if you didn’t get there right when they opened for lunch or dinner you wouldn’t get a table. Besides the handmade soba they had the most delicious oolong tea! I still crave it sometimes, so this song is named after that.” Reid continues “I like involving my husband when I can in my projects, so David named track #4 Under the Aurora Sky.” And the final track, Silver Spring Fig Tree, is a nod to Steve Feigenbaum of Cuneiform Records, the city where Reid first started playing cello, and where Feigenbaum lived and worked for many years.