New York Jazz Quartet

Pianist Roland Hanna established the first incarnation of the New York Jazz Quartet during the opening years of the 1970s, assembling flutist Hubert Laws, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Billy Cobham. That configuration produced no lasting results, yet Hanna assembled a more durable edition in 1974 that featured flutist Frank Wess alongside Carter—who was later succeeded by George Mraz—and drummer Ben Riley, with Richard Pratt and Grady Tate occasionally filling in behind the kit. The straight-ahead ensemble, active through the early 1980s, concentrated on original material and issued recordings on the Japanese Salvation label as well as Enja, Sonet, and Beehive in 1981.