The riffs are solid and kicky, and the solos are frantic but thoughtful. The ensemble is tight and energetic. The Brooklyn Sax Quartet was co-founded in 2009 by Fred Ho and David Bindman. They are joined by Sam Furnace, Chris Jonas and Fred Ho. The music is rough, raw, intelligent and passionate. It’s a celebration of tradition and improvisation as well as innovation. The ensemble’s compositions often include lengthy narratives that bring out the many voices of its improvisers. These differences are what create tension and balance. Yet, the ensemble members can become one, stop on a dime, find danceable grooves that transform into whole movements. The quartet’s sonic diversity and extended techniques, such as slap-tonguing or multiphonics, contribute to its colorfulness. Rich harmonies and layers, combined with cross-rhythms, make it sound like a big band and sometimes like a group drummer. Each performance is a new and unexpected creation because of the rhythmic complexity that can be both found spontaneously and written into compositions. Brooklyn is home to the quartet’s composer-performers. http://www.innova.mu