The MacroQuarktet

To those familiar with the NYC downtown music scene of the 80s and 90s, trumpeters Herb Robertson and Dave Ballou need no introduction. Having collaborated with the likes of Tim Berne, John Zorn, Paul Motian, Bill Frisell, Dewey Redman, and countless others, both were at the center of what was one of the most formative eras for experimental and improvised music to date. In performance, the most common meeting place for trumpet players is within the section of a big band or large ensemble, and together Robertson and Ballou have performed in the Satoko Fuji Orchestra and Orange Then Blue. However, after the recording session for Satoko Fuji’s Undulation Herb and Dave identified it as essential to play together in a smaller format. In a quartet (with the addition of Drew Gress on bass and Tom Rainey on drums) each of their unique approaches to both improvisation and the trumpet would be the central focus, and highlighted in a way not possible in a large ensemble. Thus ​The MacroQuarktet​ (a portmanteau combining both the whole view as well as the detailed) was formed. ​The Complete Night​: Live at The Stone NYC documents their first performance from June 30, 2007, available here in its entirety for the first time ever.

Dave Ballou - trumpet
Herb Robertson - trumpet
Drew Gress - bass
Tom Rainey - drums