In the 21st century "official" jazz polls list the cello in the "miscellaneous" category, despite the fact that the instrument has been used in jazz since 1917 when Henry Graves played a fine solo on W.C. Handy's hit "Snaky Blues." The modern jazz era that began in the '50s found cellist Fred Katz as an integral member of Chico Hamilton's experimental chamber jazz quintet before going out on his own. Ron Carter played the instrument in lieu of his bass on Eric Dolphy's classic Out There in 1961. In 1970, France's Saravah label introduced listeners to the psych-jazz improv of the Baroque Jazz Trio. Throughout the rest of the decade, Diedre Murray and Abdul Wadud brought the instrument into free and avant-jazz settings, while Hank Roberts and Ernst Reijseger pushed boundaries even further during the '80s. The '90s and 21st century have given us inventive players ranging from Erik Frieldlander and Tom Abbs to Fred Lonberg-Holm and Jacob Szekely. Add Queens, New York-based cellist/composer Tomeka Reid to the list as an innovator. She builds on the tradition by covering a wide swathe of ground on Old New, the second album by her all-star quartet comprised of guitarist Mary Halvorson (who won a MacArthur Foundation grant in 2019), drummer Tomas Fujiwara, and bassist Jason Roebke.

1		Old New
2		Wabash Blues
3		Niki's Bop
4		Aug 6
5		Ballad
6		Sadie
7		Edelin
8		Peripatetic
9		RN
10		Digital Booklet: Old New