PAPATAMUS REDUX

NOBUSINESS RECORDS (RELEASED MAY 1, 2026)

Their hair may have turned gray or fallen out. Their knees may have become weaker or replaced. Their vision may have changed and changed again. Yet, as evidenced by some of their recent recordings and this rare 1996 date, their passion for the art of collective improvisation and free jazz has remained intact. What makes Keeping It In Context rare is that it is the one and only time drummer Lou Grassi, saxophonist Sabir Mateen, multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter and bassist William Parker recorded as a unit. It happened in 1996 when the four met for a private jam session that was preserved on a DAT and given to Grassi. Because Grassi did not have. a DAT player at the time his memory was the only thing keeping this session alive. That changed in 2023 when he discovered the DAT and transferred it to disc. Three years later, he sent a copy to William Parker who encouraged him to release it, and thanks to NoBusiness Records we can hear four legendary players doing what they do best. The music is open-ended, seamlessly shifting from moments of deep grooves to frantic energy. The interaction between the players is instinctual as Mateen and Carter constantly intertwine lines with Parker’s strong bowed or plucked bass and Grassi’s percussive colorations. Working their way through three extended collective improvisations, the members of this ad hoc quartet manage to retain their individual voices while creating a dynamic and propulsive group sound. Keeping It In Context is more than a musical snapshot in time. Although the musicians may have grown older and gone their separate ways since the time of this session, based on their recent recordings they are certainly capable of recapturing the magic that happened in 1996 thirty years later!.

BOTTOM LINE: Thirty years ago, drummer Lou Grassi, saxophonist Sabir Mateen, multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter and bassist William Parker met for an informal jam session in New York City. The energy, creativity and passion these four had (and still do) for the art and craft of free improvisation is evident on Keeping It In Context, a recording from their ad hoc meeting in 1996 which is now available for the first time.