Quick Quartet's album reconnects local jazz musicians with listeners

Tom Henry, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio
·2 min read

Feb. 16—LOW RENT SPACE

Quick Quartet. Self-produced.

The pandemic's been rough on musicians everywhere, including local artists here in Toledo.

Now comes this disc of mostly soft and soothing, instrumental jazz — with a hefty dose of bebop and some experimental chord transgressions, plus some nifty riffin' and soloing — by the Quick Quartet.

The Quick Quartet is the Quick Trio — Jason Quick on guitar, Zac Kreuz on drums, and J Ronquillo on electric bass — plus one, Ben Wolkins on trumpet.

Also appearing on this disc is Ben Maloney on keyboards, which — OK — pushes the definition of a quartet, but let's not go there.

It's a solid, eight-song set by group members who have appeared in various combinations at Toledo-area clubs, and one of Detroit's most famous for jazz, Cliff Bell's.

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Granted, that was mostly in the pre-coronavirus days when such gigs were had. But they've also played popular venues such as the Toledo Art Museum and Toledo Botanical Gardens, and at several jazz festivals, such as the Defiance Jazz Festival and Columbus Jazz & Ribs.

"Musicians are struggling from a lack of work and opportunities, but we are looking for new ways to continue to reach out to listeners," Quick told me for an article last August about how the pandemic has forced local jazz artists to improvise in ways beyond the music they play.

Low Rent Space is one such effort that local jazz musicians have made to reconnect with listeners they've been missing during the pandemic. The set includes anything from a waltz to a fine blues tribute to one of downtown Toledo's favorite drinking spots near Fifth Third Field, Ye Olde Durty Bird, where the Quick Trio had been performing monthly for years.

Recorded by Bigfoot Studio in Waterville, the disc is scheduled for an April 1 release. Pre-orders are being taken at www.jasonquickmusic.com/low-rent-space. Also available in a digital format.