Strings dominate this extremely whimsical album full of free jazz improvisations and abstract compositions. Cellist Tomeka Reid is at the forefront of avant-garde jazz in Chicago. She plays and played with veterans such as , but also with the young trumpet player and the hip drummer and producer . Her own quartet includes the equally adventurous guitarist Mary Halvorson. At Old New the two are
… very evenly matched, sometimes leading to cacophonies of scratching and sawing guitar and cello strings. But they can also merge harmoniously with each other, until you no longer hear what the cello or guitar is. Old New is a wild and adventurous album on which old and new avant-garde jazz meet. (MR)more
