Creative Music Works and MAS Presents are proud to present the Tomeka Reid Quartet, one of the most inventive and compelling ensembles working in contemporary improvised music today. The Quartet performs in Denver for the first time on Saturday, December 12th at the Bug Theatre, in Denver.

Led by acclaimed cellist, composer, and MacArthur Fellow Tomeka Reid, the quartet brings together four extraordinary musicians: Reid, guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Jason Roebke, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara - in performances that blur the boundaries between jazz, chamber music, composition, and spontaneous improvisation.

Their music feels both carefully constructed and discovered in real time. Melodies emerge, dissolve, and reform through conversation and listening, with each musician contributing a distinct voice to the ensemble’s richly textured sound. The result is adventurous yet deeply expressive music that rewards curiosity while remaining emotionally grounded and surprisingly inviting.

Reid herself has become one of the defining creative voices to emerge from Chicago’s vibrant improvised music community over the past decade. Her work as a composer and performer draws from classical traditions, jazz, and avant-garde practices, but resists easy categorization. Rather than treating genres as fixed boundaries, the quartet approaches music as a space for exploration, collaboration, and discovery.

The ensemble’s acclaimed recordings have earned praise for their boldness, lyricism, and originality, with critics describing the group’s work as “fresh and transformative.” Yet what makes the Tomeka Reid Quartet truly remarkable is the sense of connection at the heart of the music, four musicians listening intensely, taking risks together, and creating something alive in the moment.

What critics are saying

"A real case of lightning strikes twice. This is one of my favorite jazz quartets going right now: Reid, Roebke, Halvorson, Fujiwara. Dynamic, rubbery, joyous and fun."

–Lars Gotrich, NPR

“This music sounds wonderfully alive and full of surprises."

–The Wire

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