So It Goes

Let yourself be drawn under the spell of this outstanding saxophonist, who immerses the listener in a strain of jazz that lightly nods to New Orleans while boldly engaging with an ultra-contemporary vision of her art. 5 STARS
Thierry De Clemensat, Paris-Move

Saxophonist Kate Olson's So It Goes captures the wide-open imagination and understated cool of her chord-less Seattle quartet, thriving on the interplay and invention built through steady collaboration on Northwest stages. With Tim Carey on electric bass, Evan Woodle on drums, and Conner Eisenmenger on trombone, the band presents a set of originals, with their chemistry shining on angular, bebop-inflected tunes like "All Pear Shaped" and "Bumbling Thumbs Blues," and on their wistful explorations of "Afterthoughts" and "Pink Mountain." Guests Wayne Horvitz and Geoff Harper lend warmth to the title cut, a gospel-tinged reflection on the Kurt Vonnegut character Billy Pilgrim, and join again on the one cover tune, a radiant take of Alice Coltrane's "Translinear Light." From joyful to contemplative, Olson's Quartet values conversation over perfection, shaping a sound that's at once exploratory, organic, and deeply Northwest.

"...straight-ahead jazz, a fastball right over the heart of the plate, and it's terrific...What's especially gratifying about this project is that it provides her the space to reveal the extent of her lyricism and to bring it to full bloom."
Dave Sumner, Bird is the Worm

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