Musical project

Michael Rabinowitz Quartet South

Bassoon, piano, bass and drums in original music shaped by a decades-long collaboration.

About the project

Michael Rabinowitz and Michael Jefry Stevens began performing together in New York’s Mosaic Sextet, alongside Dave Douglas, Mark Feldman, Joe Fonda and Harvey Sorgen. Their work continued through freely improvised duo music and collaborations with vocalist Lenore von Stein. Quartet South brings that shared history together with Zack Page and Rick Dilling in original music by Rabinowitz and Stevens.

The musicians

Michael Rabinowitz, bassoon
Michael Jefry Stevens, piano
Zack Page, bass
Rick Dilling, drums

Michael Rabinowitz Quartet South history

A long-running conversation.

The Mosaic Sextet’s debut recording, Today This Moment, was named among the top 100 CDs of the 1990s in The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Rabinowitz and Stevens later made Play, a studio recording of freely improvised duo music.

In July 2024, Quartet South recorded its debut album, featuring original music by Rabinowitz and Stevens.

The musicians

Michael Rabinowitz

Whether playing bebop over a Mingus tune or freely improvising with Anthony Braxton, Michael Rabinowitz has expanded ideas about what the bassoon can do. A SUNY Purchase music performance graduate, he has recorded with Ira Sullivan, Red Rodney, Wynton Marsalis, John Hicks, Dave Douglas, Chris Potter and Joe Lovano, and is a founding member of the Charles Mingus Orchestra. His work also includes Bassoon and the Wild, Ocean Eyes, On the Reed Again with Jean Luc Fillon, and the Odd Couple Quintet with John Clark.

Zack Page

Zack Page has performed professionally on bass since the early 1990s, with work taking him throughout the United States and internationally. His jazz credits include Billy Higgins, Marvin Stamm, Eddie Daniels and Babik Reinhardt. Based in Asheville, he performs with One Leg Up, the Page Brothers Quartet, The Core, Alien Music Club and the Wendy Jones Quartet, and serves on the UNC Asheville faculty.

Michael Jefry Stevens

Pianist, composer and Steinway Artist Michael Jefry Stevens has been active internationally for four decades and has composed more than 400 works for ensembles of every size. He has released more than 100 recordings of his music and performed with artists including Dave Liebman, Oliver Lake, Dave Douglas, Leo Smith, Matt Wilson, Han Bennink, Mark Feldman and Dame Evelyn Glennie. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Jazz Performance from Queens College.

Rick Dilling

Raised in Pennsylvania, Rick Dilling grew up listening to the great big bands before earning a degree in Music Industry Studies from Appalachian State University. His performing work includes Clark Terry, Ernie Watts, Herb Ellis, Joe Temperley, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Billy Taylor and the Unifour Jazz Big Band. He is also an adjunct instructor in Appalachian State’s Jazz Department.

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