KK4TET: 2+2
Review by Rafał Zbrzeski
KK4TET
2+2
(Feel For Reel, 2021)
The band KK4TET was brought into existence in Kyiv by the young double bassist Khrystyna Kirik. The quartet included her colleagues Mykola Ryshkov, Hryhorii Parshyn and Taras Kozak.
The absence of a harmonic instrument in the ensemble's cast, together with the presence of two saxophones, directs the association towards areas close to open forms rather than jazz mainstream. This anticipation is indeed (at least partially) confirmed by the content of the 2021-released EP "2+2". If I were to point to a moment in the history of jazz as a point of departure for KK4TET's work, it would be the era when musicians who had grown up in bop were tentatively beginning to explore new possibilities and make inroads into the avant-garde and free-jazz revolution of the 1960s. The members of the Ukrainian quartet seem to be fascinated by the music of this very period - one of the most creative in the history of jazz.
This does not mean, however, that they unreflectively play patents from more than half a century ago, because, with all due respect for history, the strengths the young Ukrainians have to offer are clearly audible in the songs on "2+2". Above all, they are imaginative, playing "with convention" rather than "in the convention", the absence of a harmonic instrument allows them to free up space for interesting interactions, and the vigour with which they devote themselves to music simply makes the pieces fresh. It can be heard that Khrystyna Kirik and her colleagues are primarily interested in searching for possibilities, developing a chosen artistic concept, and not in creating copies of the achievements of great artists from a completely different era.
It is worth emphasizing that the work of KK4TET impresses with its ability to combine the most creative elements of the past with the jazz present, and they are very credible in this.