Record Reviews

GARDEN ~ PILGRIM LOSEN 302 (Barcode: 7090025833021) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2023 Released: 2024 This is the debut album by the Norwegian trio GardenFind albums by this artist, which comprises of saxophonist / composer Mathias HagenFind albums by this artist, bassist Henrik Sandstad DalenFind albums by this artist and drummer Oystein Aarnes VikFind albums by this artist. A couple of guest musicians appear on selected tracks. The album presents eleven tracks, all original compositions by Hagen. The music is based on clear melody themes and mixes the typical Nordic melancholy and lyricism with other influences, like Folkloristic Mediterranean echoes and uneven rhythmic patterns, creating a fascinating fabric, which is delightful in its minimalism and captivating atmosphere. Hagen is an excellent improviser, who moves in and out of the melody lines with elegance and obvious skill. Dalen provides superb bass support, both highly melodic and precisely rhythmical and Vik stays delicately in the background, carefully adding his accents without disturbing the flow. Overall, this is quite unusual and moving effort, which stands out in its originality and ability to create music with the “less is more” attitude, but which offers a captivating listening experience, on one hand typically Nordic but also full of exotic little accents, making things really interesting. This is an excellent debut effort and a wonderful example of European Jazz ingenuity, which never ceases to surprise.

Updated: 03/09/2024Posted: 03/09/2024

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LITTLE BALCONY ~ LITTLE BALCONY AMP 028 (Barcode: 662578831228) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2018 This is the debut album by Norwegian Jazz quartet Little BalconyFind albums by this artist comprising of vocalist Thea Emilie WangFind albums by this artist, pianist Martin Sandvik GjerdeFind albums by this artist, bassist Henrik Sandstad DalenFind albums by this artist and drummer Kenneth Enes KristoffersenFind albums by this artist. Two guest musicians appear on a couple of tracks. The album presents eight original tunes, seven composed by Kristoffersen and one by Dalen. Wang wrote all the lyrics except for three tunes on which they were co-written by Kristoffersen and Dalen wrote the lyrics to the song he also composed. The music is very melodic and almost entirely melancholic, with strong Nordic atmosphere and dark lyricism. The songs are relatively short, concentrating on the delivery of the tune without much improvisation or soloing, but the Jazzy feeling is there at all times. Wang sings in English, which is a mistake, as her pronunciation of the lyrics is imprecise, but her vocal delivery is very interesting, theatrical and highly emotional. She is at the epicenter of the music at all times, skillfully using also vocalese, when appropriate. The piano trio performs in a wonderful minimalist manner, with the piano stating the melody lines and the rhythm section keeping the pulse of the music beating, which is a wonderful example of "less is more". One of the tracks is a solo bass performance, which is definitely one of the highlights of the album. Although the album might be perceived as a Pop / Jazz effort, it is by no means trivial or simplistic and except for the title track it is even quite challenging. Overall this is definitely a very ambitious debut effort, which leaves us all waiting for more, especially since the album´s duration is rather short (under half an hour).

Updated: 02/10/2018Posted: 02/10/2018

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