This album answers jazz’s current existential question—should we swing or not?—with an emphatic affirmative. Yet it doesn’t sound nostalgic or even terribly conventional, owing to the relaxed and elastic feel achieved by this rhythm section. […] Mr. Iverson’s own wit and accumulated wisdom underscore these arrangements, which were negotiated on the bandstand. […] Mr. Harrell’s playing is finely detailed and immediately charismatic, qualities accentuated not only by Mr. Iverson’s quartet but also Mr. Eicher’s production. Unlike many live recordings, which can sound flat or unbalanced, the music here is lovingly captured and engineered to create a satisfyingly immersive effect. The only thing that likely sounds just as it did at the Vanguard on those January 2017 evenings is the raucous audience applause, which was richly deserved.
Larry Blumenfeld, The Wall Street Journal
Es gibt keine Zukunft ohne Vergangenheit. In der Kunst meint diese Banalität: jede Innovation wächst aus einem Fundus, aus kollektiven und individuellen Erfahrungen. Das voraussetzungslos Neue ist eine Illusion. Kühne Flüge ins Unerhörte heben allemal vom Boden des Überkommenen, Übernommenen ab – und sei’s im Widerspruch dazu. Um etwas zu negieren, muss man es erst einmal zur Kenntnis nehmen. So ist ein Album wie das jüngste, das Ethan Iverson, bis 2017 Pianist des Kulttrios The Bad Plus, im Quartett mit dem fast dreissig Jahre älteren Trompeter Tom Harrell und einer Rhythmusgruppe seiner Generation (dem Bassisten Ben Street und dem Drummer Eric McPherson) im New Yorker Club ‘Village Vanguard’ aufgenommen hat, totz seines Repertoires aus fast lauter ‘Standards’ keineswegs ein antiquarisches oder gar reaktionäres Unternehmen, vielmehr, nicht anders als Keith Jarretts Trio gleichen Namens, zeitgenössischer, aktueller, inspirierter Jazz, der aus der Reibung mit den alten, endlos interpretierten Vorlagen die überraschendsten Funken schlägt. […] Namentlich der Pianist beherrscht die Gratwanderung zwischen kühnen Verschiebungen und schrägen Unterfütterungen der alten Ohrwürmer und deren Beschwörung in Perfektion, und Harrell verbindet wie keiner eine Postbop-Virtuosität mit einer warmen, melodiösen Trompetenkunst im Sinn von songs without words. Street und McPherson bilden eine ebenso swingende wie überraschende, flexible Rhythmik.
Peter Rüedi, Weltwoche
Leading a simpatico new quartet, pianist/composer Ethan Iverson channels energies to a set of charming renditions of Great American Songbook cornerstones alongside two originals, whose bluesy nature goes perfectly well with the rest of the material. While teaming up with bassist Ben Street and drummer Eric McPherson in the rhythm section, the pianist didn’t hide his appreciation for having ace trumpeter Tom Harrell spearheading the melodic department. ‘Common Practice’ is a heartfelt tribute to New York’s straight-ahead jazz. Iverson and his peers stroll through the polished surfaces of jazz standards, combining the mastery of fundamentals with an openness to embrace new textures and harmonic directions. […] To better clarify our readers, what he have here is more than simply straight-ahead readings of popular songs and blues. There are old pieces sounding new again. Thus, with an obvious bind with tradition, the album is never less than stirring and satisfying.
Filipe Freitas, Jazz Trail
Recorded live at the Village Vanguard in January 2017, ‘Common Practice’ showcases trumpeter Tom Harrell, whose warm, inviting tone and outstanding solos enliven this set of standards. With bassist Ben Street and drummer Eric McPherson setting the perfectly symbiotic tone on gentle ballads and all-out swingers, pianist Ethan Iverson’s playfully subversive penchant for reharmonization, baroque extrapolation and other unpredictable twists and turns subtly impacts the proceedings. […] Throughout the program, Iverson simultaneously offers a heartfelt love letter to standards while spray-painting his own tag all over them. The star here is Harrell, and the man behind the curtain is Iverson.
Bill Milkowski, Downbeat
Following his expansive 2018 duo album with saxophonist Mark Turner, ‘Temporary Kings’, pianist and former Bad Plus member Ethan Iverson offers an intimate concert collaboration with trumpeter Tom Harrell on 2019’s ‘Common Practice’. Recorded live at New York’s famed Village Vanguard in 2017, ‘Common Practice’ finds the inventive keyboardist joining forces with Harrell, as well as his longtime rhythm section associates bassist Ben Street and drummer Eric McPherson. Whereas ‘Temporary Kings’ showcased a mix of original compositions, here Iverson and Harrell move through a set of well-curated standards in the style of classic jazz albums of the ’50s and ’60s; albeit in their own harmonically inventive fashion. […] an endlessly engaging listen.
Matt Collar, All Music
‘Common Practice’ shows the depth and complexity of Ethan Iverson’s musical interests proving that there are plenty of new things to say on classic jazz and standard tunes when you have a great rhythm section with the addition of Tom Harrell. Harrell, now in his 70’s maintains a firm command of the trumpet, the history of the music, and his harmonic knowledge makes his solos always interesting. ‘Common Practice’ is hard swinging, and the tunes chosen show why they continue to endure in the present day, and how they can be a wellspring for musicians in a potent cross generational meeting.
CJ Shearn, Jazz Views
Regelmäßig entstehen im New Yorker Jazzclub Village Vanguard musikalisch überragende Aufnahmen. Auch jetzt wieder: Ethan Iverson, der mit The Bad Plus einen eher ruppigen Stil pflegte, zeigt auf ‘Common Practice’ seine zurückhaltende, einfühlsame Seite. […] Erstens gibt sich sein Quartett völlig unmodern dem Swing der Themen hin, zweitens – nun zeitgenössisch – destilliert es deren Kern in einer sorgsam reduzierten Umgebung heraus. Der Trompeter Tom Harrell, Jahrgang 1946, krönt dieses Konzept mit einer Palette von brüchigen, rauen, weichen, strahlenden, impulsiven und bedächtigen Klängen. Und das ist keineswegs gängige Praxis, das ist außergewöhnlich.
Werner Stiefele Audio
A romantic, seductive record, radiating a warm glow through affable meditations.
Paddy Kehoe, RTE
Like looking at a great painting or reading a classic novel, this deceptively simple album reveals new facets with each listening.
George Kanzler, New York City Jazz Record
With Ethan Iverson at the piano, any session is bound to be an excursion into the unknown, or at least the unexpected. He has the knack of making quite outrageous ideas seem perfectly logical. This time he is joined by veteran trumpeter Tom Harrell, whose soft, dry tone and sudden silences give a curiously brooding quality to much of his playing. Both are at their best and most characteristic in Gershwin’s ‘The Man I Love’. The whole quartet, including bassist Ben Street and drummer Eric McPherson, shines in the Latin-flavoured ‘Wee’ (derived from ‘I Got Rhythm’), and I love the decidedly contrary treatment of ‘Sentimental Journey’ – Doris Day’s first hit, from 1945. If it weren’t for the occasional burst of applause, you’d never guess that this was recorded at a New York jazz club, the Village Vanguard. It has the clarity and ambient perfection of all ECM albums.
Dave Gelly, The Observer
Harrell is in immaculate form, and together with Ben Street on double bass and Eric McPherson on drums, the quartet shine an intoxicating light on the tunes they perform, making this a truly wonderful album. […] One of my favourite albums of the year so far, ‘Common Practice’ should appeal to many. This is jazz of the highest standard, performed with subtlety and vision, with a great atmosphere and endearing nature, it just gets better and better the more I listen to it.
Mike Gates, UK Vibe
Openingsnummer ‘The Man I Love’ is meteen al van een grote schoonheid. Iversons spaarzame noten zijn net iets anders dan je verwacht, zoals hij ieder bijna doodgespeeld nummer subtiel een nieuwe impuls geeft. En als de donkere klank van Harrells trompet als een warme deken over Gershwins compositie heen glijdt voel je een lichte siddering.
(The opening song ‘The Man I Love’ is of great beauty right from the start. Iverson’s frugal notes are just a little bit different from what you would expect, as he subtly gives a new impulse to every song that otherwise has been almost played to death […]. And when the dark sound of Harrell’s trumpet slides over Gershwin’s composition like a warm blanket, you feel a slight tremor.)
Gijsbert Kramer, De Volkskrant
Das Quartett von Ethan Iverson agiert hellwach an der Seite von Tom Harrell. Den Trompeter live zu erleben, ist nicht weniger als ein Geschenk.
Georg Waßmuth, Südwestrundfunk
As postmodernist as he can be, Iverson carries a deep passion for the jazz tradition, exercising that side of his talent with the remarkable Billy Hart Quartet and as a professor at the New England Conservatory. With ‘Common Practice’, his first album with his eponymous quartet, he indulges that passion fully. Interestingly, while this could have been a perfect opportunity to show off his own virtuosity, Iverson chooses to act as bandleader more than featured performer. That spotlight falls instead on trumpeter Tom Harrell, a longtime leader in his own right with a sublimely tasteful touch. ‘The Man I Love,’ a nearly-century old Gerswhin ballad, showcases Harrell at his most Chet Bakeresque, sticking close to the melody and adding enough feeling to make each note count, never sinking into melodrama. Acting as the moderator between Harrell and the relaxed swing of bassist Ben Street and drummer Eric McPherson, Iverson provides comping so austere it’s almost minimalist, letting his bandmates earn any close attention. […] Drawing less on his work with The Bad Plus and more on his time with Billy Hart, Iverson uses ‘Common Practice’ as a vehicle for interests outside of deconstruction and avant-garde whimsy. His next trick should be melding his interests into a unified whole; combined with his deft keyboard touch and ability to get inside a tune, that will make some undeniable fireworks. But if for some reason he decides to continue drawing from the well of standards, ‘Common Practice’ proves he has the ability and the vision to do it, and do it well.
Michael Toland, Rock and Roll Globe
Tom Harrells Trompete, ob er nun, wie in George und Ira Gershwins ewigem ‘The Man I Love’ eine Ballade auf die Gefühlsspitze treibt oder im mittleren Tempo des Iverson-Stücks ‘Philadelphia Creamer’ sein Instrument mirakulös flirren lässt: Dieser magischen Trompete muss das hörende Ohr in jeder noch so feinen Regung folgen.
Steff Rohrbach, Jazz’n’More
‘Common Practice’ bietet ausschließlich Blues und Standards, aber Iverson interpretiert sie auf abenteuerliche Weise. Mit Ben Street (Bass) und Eric McPherson (Schlagzeug) unterzieht er die Evergreens einer vor Spannung berstenden Belastungsprobe; Rhythmen werden in kollektivem Austausch durcheinandergewirbelt, Harmonien bis in dissonante Grenzbereiche ausgereizt. […] Dazu spielt Harrell zutiefst anrührende Soli, die in ihrer Fragilität an den späten Chet Baker erinnern. Sein Trompetensound umhüllt die Härte des Metalls mit hauchiger Zartheit. Während Iverson, der Denker, eher ungeahnte harmonische Möglichkeitne auslotet, dringt Harrell zum emotionalen Kern der Stücke vor.
Georg Spindler, Mannheimer Morgen
Any recording that features trumpeter Harrell demands study, especially when he’s heard with the translucent accompaniment of pianist Iverson’s quartet. The musicians deconstruct jazz standards to poetic effect, sprinkling the repertoire at this 2017 Village Vanguard date with Iverson originals. The intimacy of the music-making stands out; you feel as if you’re in the room.
Howard Reich, The Chicago Tribune
Mit seinem neuen Quartett blickt Iverson nun zurück in die frühen Jahre der Moderne, als traditionell geradeaus gespielt wurde. So funktioniert Jazz, möchte man sich über die Gesamtspielzeit dieser wundervollen Live-CD vor sich hin freuen und wäre gern dabei gewesen an diesen Abenden im Club. […] Alles funktioniert in dieser beeindruckenden Liveperformance-Jazzlehrstunde, denn für Tom Harrell ist Ethan Iverson der ideale Partner. Er ist in dieser Tradition zu Hause und kann sie pianistisch ausleuchten im Bandkontext und als Solist. Er hat dieses gleichermaßen Poetische wie Schelmische, dieses sparsam Hintersinnige, Abgezockte, über das man einfach nur staunen kann. Was für ein Pianist!
Ulrich Steinmetzger, Freie Presse
Weil hier ein Avantgarde-erfahrener Pianist, eine exzellente Modern Jazz-Rhythmusgruppe und ein Old School-Trompeter im Konzert sich gemeinsam zurücknehmen und eine gemeinsame Schnittmenge finden, funktioniert diese Band und kann selbst so gefühlvoll gestrickte Songs wie ‘Sentimental Journey’ oder ‘I Can’t Get Started’ noch zum coolen Leuchten bringen.
Heribert Ickerott, Jazzpodium
Two highly individual soloists, Iverson and Harrell, mean that it’s not just a blowing session. What a superb trumpeter Harrell is. There’s a vulnerability in his playing, apparent on ballads such as ‘The Man I Love’ and ‘I Can’t Get Started’ – both taken at a glacial tempo, but full of feeling – but also on mid-tempo performances like ‘I’m Getting Sentimental Over You’. The pianist is a master of the unobvious move. A highlight is Denzil Best’s ‘Wee’ in calypso rhythm, and a gorgeously plangent, oblique ‘Out Of Nowhere’. […] Harrell’s solos in particular, in their apparent simplicity, pathos and melodic beauty, are some of the finest you’ll hear among this year’s releases. As it’s ECM, the live recording is palpably present.
Andy Hamilton Jazz Journal
This is one of the most lovely recordings of standards of recent years.
Michael Ullman, Fanfare
