Record Reviews

SIMEN KIIL HALVORSEN ~ SCRIPTED CONVERSATIONS AMP 010 (Barcode: 6625788310376) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by Norwegian trumpeter / composer Simen Kiil HalvorsenFind albums by this artist, recorded by his sextet, which also includes saxophonist Hanna PaulsbergFind albums by this artist, pianist Oyvind DaleFind albums by this artist, bassist Fredrik Luhr DietrichsonFind albums by this artist and drummers Raymond Storaunet LavikFind albums by this artist and Hans HulbaekmoFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Halvorsen. The music is contemporary European Jazz, played by representatives of the young generation of Norwegian Jazz, which is gradually taking charge of the local scene. The compositions are coherent and harmonically graceful, serving ideally as vehicles for extended soloing and group performances. The rhythm section, which features two drummers, adds a unique polyrhythmic touch, which includes a delicate but significant World Music subtext. The well written tunes are able to hold the listener´s attention from start to finish and keep surprising with their grace and depth. There is a superb balance between the melody based material and the less constrained improvised content, providing an excellent amalgam of the two. The individual performances by all the members of the sextet are very impressive, especially in view of their young age. These musicians are all gifted instrumentalists and their work as an ensemble is full of mutual respect and attentive listening. The overall result achieved by the sextet is truly outstanding. This album is a wonderful example of what young European musicians are capable today, presenting a remarkably mature statements, which are detached from the stale American Jazz tradition. This music is fresh, progressive and searching, and as such keeps the listener mesmerized, and expands the Jazz horizons into uncharted territory, which after all is the essence of the idiom. Overall this is a most impressive debut, both on the compositional and performance levels, which deserves to be heard by as many modern European Jazz fans as possible. Please reach out and get a copy of this album – satisfaction guaranteed!

Updated: 04/10/2018Posted: 05/10/2017

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PAST PRESENT & TORTUSA ~ ETERNAL RETURN JAZZLAND 34 (Barcode: 687437792359) ~ NORWAY ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2019 This is the debut album by Norwegian trio comprising of the Jazz duo Past PresentFind albums by this artist– trumpeter Simen Kiil HalvorsenFind albums by this artist and bassist Alexander HoholmFind albums by this artist – and electronics / live sampling artist TortusaFind albums by this artist. The album presents three extended tracks, co-credited to the three participants. The music is a unique mixture of Improvised Jazz Music and ambient outings, which create together layers of hypnotic soundscapes, which lack focus but offer a continuous aural experience, which can be followed attentively. Except for the trumpet voicing, this music has almost nothing to do with Jazz per se, in the conventional meaning of the idiom, but it might be one of the many contemporary Avant-Garde Jazz explorations, which European musicians are undertaking in order to push the boundaries of the genre. For most conventional Jazz enthusiasts this music is absolutely weird and perhaps even unlistenable, but the few open-minded and intellectually feverish individuals, this music might be extremely revealing and surprisingly beautiful. In order to develop every Art Form, including music of course, needs experimentation and search for new ways of expression. Without them Culture becomes stagnant, as it happened so many times during human history. This music is exactly such kind of experiment, which is completely unconventional, without destroying the European aesthetics and the Jazz tradition. I warmly recommend this music and hope listeners will give it a proper chance, as it truly deserves it. Many (and perhaps most) Avant-Garde experiments are simply vain forms of masturbation, which have no purpose except self satisfaction of those involved in their creation, but this music proves that Avant-Garde is still a risk worth taking.

Updated: 26/10/2019Posted: 08/10/2019

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PAST PRESENT & ANDREW D`ANGELO ~ SHORT PIECES HEVHETIA 0148 (Barcode: 8588005258098) ~ NORWAY ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 This is the debut album by a collaboration between the Norwegian duo Past PresentFind albums by this artist, comprising of trumpeter Simen Kiil HalvorsenFind albums by this artist and bassist Alexander HoholmFind albums by this artist, and American saxophonist Andrew D`AngeloFind albums by this artist. Three guest musicians: pianists Pete RendeFind albums by this artist and Elias StemesederFind albums by this artist and drummer Jim BlackFind albums by this artist appear on selected tracks. The album presents ten original improvised pieces, all unusually short (under four minutes in duration) credited to the participating musicians. The music is surprisingly very melodic, especially in view of its improvisational nature, with the Nordic melancholy omnipresent. The melody lines are often stated and soon after left to reverberate before the improvisation takes over. The concept of creating only short pieces of music proves to be successful in this case, as Improvised Music more than often suffers from overstated and in the long run repetitive exploration leading nowhere, which is completely avoided in this case. Perhaps the idea is based in the minimalist approach, which simply puts forward a musical idea and than lets the listener to fill the blanks. One way or another these short pieces stimulate curiosity and interest, but often leave the listener surprised, when the music is unexpectedly over. Overall this is a very interesting Improvised Music / Free Jazz statement, which manages to stick to the European aesthetics of non aggressive coexistence, which helps the music to be acceptable to listeners from outside of the relatively closed sphere of Avant Garde aficionados. Definitely worth exploring!

Updated: 17/12/2018Posted: 17/08/2018

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THOMAS TORSTRUP ~ TWO BROTHERS NXN 2007 (Barcode: 7090052640128) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2021 This is the debut album as a leader by Norwegian pianist / composer Thomas TorstrupFind albums by this artist recorded in a quartet setting with trumpeter Simen Kiil HalvorsenFind albums by this artist, bassist Stian Andreas Egeland AndersenFind albums by this artist and drummer Ivar Myrset AsheimFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, seven by Torstrup and one by Andersen. The music is all within the modern mainstream Jazz idiom, based on solid, melodic compositions, which serve as vehicles for improvisations by the quartet members. The classic Jazz quartet with trumpet up front is a refreshing reminder of many such ensembles in the good old Bebop and Hard Bop days, which is sadly less popular these days. Much of the music is based on the intimate dialogue between the piano and the trumpet, which works marvelously even without any accompaniment by the rhythm section, but of course the quartet performances as equally enjoyable. Torstrup is definitely a skilled and imaginative pianist, and his highly developed sense of melody allows him to develop fluid and coherent soloing all through the album. Halvorsen, who appears on several albums I had the pleasure to review earlier, has a beautiful clear sound and excellently uses the muted sound to emphasize the lyrical moments. The rhythm section is also very skilled and performs amicably, keeping the music on track. Overall, this is an admirable debut effort showing a lot of potential, which will definitely come to fruition in the future work by these young representatives of the Norwegian Jazz scene, which in the last decade achieved a significant footstep on the European Jazz scene. Definitely well done!

Updated: 01/12/2021Posted: 01/12/2021

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