Pink Noise Saxophone Quartet

New York City's Pink Noise Saxophone Quartet is led by Australian tenor and soprano saxophonist Tim Otto, who has also performed with Myth Science, Joe Gallant, and the Virgil Moorefield Ensemble. Otto formed the quartet in 1994, applying the "Pink Noise" name to the group in a reference to both the lush harmonies of combined saxophones and the abrasiveness of low frequency static. Far from abrasive, however, the PNSQ juxtaposes street marches, funk, freewheeling jazz, blues, and Middle Eastern music, performing pieces with both solo and collective improvising as well as adventurous ensemble writing. The original quartet included Peck Allmond -- an alto and tenor saxophonist from the San Francisco Bay area who has also played with Don Cherry, Peter Apfelbaum and the Julius Hemphill Sextet -- Nathan Salant, and Blaise Siwula in addition to Otto. During the late '90s, the quartet went through a number of personnel changes, always retaining Otto in the driver's seat while evolving into a unit characterized by rigorous compositions and arrangements in addition to free-blowing improvisation. Other members of the PNSQ have also included Andy Laster -- of Hydra, Interpretations of Lessness, the Julius Hemphill Sextet, New and Used, Ballin' The Jack, and Erik Friedlander's Topaz -- on baritone saxophone, Canadian Michael Blake -- of John Lurie's Lounge Lizards, Groove Collective, and Kamikaze Ground Crew -- on tenor saxophone, and Briggan Krauss -- of Babkas, Wayne Horvitz's Pigpen, Good Kitty, Andrea Parkins' Cast Iron Fact, and his own recent trio with Horvitz and drummer Kenny Wollesen -- on alto saxophone. The Pink Noise Saxophone Quartet released its first CD, The Jig Is Up, on the independent Pink Tomato Music label in 1998. The CD features Otto, Allmond, Laster, and either Blake or Krauss augmented by the rhythm section of bassist Dom Richards and drummer Aaron Alexander in an energetic live session recorded on two dates in the summer of 1998 at the Knitting Factory's Tap Bar in NYC. The high spirits and humor of the recording are evident in the titles of the eight Tim Otto compositions, which include "Pass the Cous Cous," "Fish Eats Dog," and "Romance in Underpants." ~ Dave Lynch, All Music Guide