Chris Speed Yeah NO with Cuong Vu, Skúli Sverrisson, Jim Black

n March of 2000, Ars Nova Workshop hosted the first of what would become hundreds of performances across Philadelphia, presenting saxophonist Chris Speed and his creative quartet yeah NO at Plays & Players Theater. Much has changed in the ensuing quarter century. Speed has returned to perform for ANW many times in the ensuing years, most recently as a member of the acclaimed trio-turned-quartet The Bad Plus. After more than two decades as a nomadic organization, Ars Nova finally found a permanent home at Solar Myth in 2022.

So it’s a unique thrill to celebrate Ars Nova’s momentous 25th anniversary, albeit a year late, by bringing Speed and yeah NO back to Philadelphia. The quartet, which teamed Speed with trumpeter Cuong Vu, bassist Skulli Sverrisson and drummer Jim Black, was the saxophonist and clarinetist’s first venture as a leader, emerging from his groundbreaking work as a member of two now-legendary ensembles, Human Feel and Tim Berne’s Bloodcount. At the time, LA Weekly hailed Speed’s music as “one of the freshest and most attractive newer strains in jazz — moving, driving, blending, shaking and evaporating in glassy plumes.” A welcome reunion, to be sure.