Joe Lovano: ‘Paramount Quartet’

One of my favourite guests on Harmonious World - Joe Lovano - is set to release a new album with his ‘Paramount Quartet’.

Lovano is one of those musicians who is constantly striving for the very best - the ‘paramount’, if you will. Hence this album with a very special quartet. It was an honour, back in April 2021, to interview Joe Lovano for Harmonious World, given his several appearances in my music collection.

For 2026, Paramount Quartet features Lovano on tenor and G mezzo soprano saxes and tarogato, the latter of which is a woodwind instrument most commonly found in Hungarian folk music. The remainder of this uniquely elegant and entertaining quartet is Julian Lage (guitar), Asante Santi Debriano (double bass) and Will Calhoun (drums).

We’re becoming increasingly familiar with the guitar sound of Lage and his introduction on First Song sets the scene beautifully for Lovano’s evocative sax: the pair had originally met decades ago and it seems impossible that this is their first project together. Not only does their sound work so well together, but they seem to each invoke the other in their improvised solos before the whole quartet leads the tune to its conclusion.

There’s a freedom to Amsterdam as Lovano swaps onto the rarer mezzo soprano sax, which fits equally well with this quartet, as bass and drums support and stretch the lead instruments. Back on a solo tenor, the introduction to The Call reminds us exactly why Lovano has such an established reputation.

Combining freedom and a groove, Congregation is just beyond cool. If I wanted to show someone contemporary jazz at its finest, I might very well choose this album and this final track to woo and wow them. Whenever these players hint at a freedom, they come right back to something uber-subtle and expressive.

Lovano says: “Will Calhoun has a way of playing that is so expansive and beautiful in so many directions. And the same with Asante. His roots, his Panamanian roots, and being around New York, playing with Archie Shepp and Randy Weston and some other folks through the years… We've known each other since the 80s. And then Julian [Lage] is among the most gifted players in the music…”

‘Joe Lovano: Paramount Quartet’ is out on 29 May from ECM Records