Record Reviews

BENTO BOX TRIO ~ SOMEHOW I LOST MY WAY FJORDGATA 028 (Barcode: 644637456474) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2023 Released: 2025 This is the 2nd album by the Bento Box TrioFind albums by this artist, which comprises of Islandic pianist Benjamin Gisli EinarssonFind albums by this artist and Norwegian violinist Tuva HalseFind albums by this artist, and drummer Oyvind LeiteFind albums by this artist. Two guest musicians: vocalist / saxophonist Sissel Vera PettersenFind albums by this artist and bassist Mats EilertsenFind albums by this artist play, each on three distinct tracks. The album presents ten tracks, four each composed by Halse and Einarsson and two co-composed by all three trio members. The music is highly melodic, with a strong Scandinavian aura and Classical Music influence due to the strong violin presence, all elegantly put together and presenting a delicate, intricate lyrical mesh. The excellent sound quality enables every little instrumental nuance to be heard accurately. The atmosphere is somewhat daunting and weird, similar to horror film soundtracks at times, and the music flows very slowly, as if hesitantly, which creates a very unusual effect, and might be a tad difficult for an average listener to swallow, in addition to the couple of freely improvised tracks, which sound unrelated to the rest of the music. Overall, this is a very interesting and also quite demanding album, which should delight open-minded listeners, especially those addicted to the Scandinavian Jazz sound, but in principle it has a wide stylistic scope, which should be enjoyed by all Jazz lovers, willing to make an effort, when listening to music.

Updated: 25/03/2026Posted: 25/03/2026

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JAROMIR HONZAK ~ BLOOD SINGS ANIMAL MUSIC 033 (Barcode: 8594155996049) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Jazz-Pop Fusion Recorded: 2012 Released: 2012 This is the seventh album by Czech Jazz bassist / composer / bandleader Jaromir HonzakFind albums by this artist recorded with Norwegian (resident in Denmark) vocalist Sissel Vera PettersenFind albums by this artist, Czech keyboardist Vit KristanFind albums by this artist and guitarist Josef StepanekFind albums by this artist and Polish drummer Lukasz ZytaFind albums by this artist. The album is dedicated to the songs by American singer / songwriter Suzanne VegaFind albums by this artist and nine out of the ten pieces on the album were written or co-written by her. The remaining piece is an instrumental improvisation credited to Honzak, Pettersen, Kristan and Zyta. The music is a somewhat Jazzed up interpretation of the songs by Vega, which retains the melancholy and delicate melodic lines of the origin. The arrangements are very modest and subdued, preserving an intimate climate and respectfully remain within the Pop idiom, without trying to transform the songs into overtly Jazz language, which I personally find very commendable. Even Pettersen, known for her experimental vocal techniques, stays pretty “conventional” for the entire duration of the album. As beautiful and heartfelt the music on this album is, I personally fail to see the “added value” it offers over the original material performed by Vega, which is often more expressive at its “naked” minimalist delivery. There is plenty of beautiful music and superb performances herein, as expected, and the album easily holds its ground, but is somewhat less challenging and exciting than the rest of Honzak’s recorded legacy. The a.m. improvised piece is, for me, the highlight of the album and I wish more of such music was included on this album. Overall this is an elegant piece of music, which pays tribute to a sublime songwriter and should keep both the Jazz and more sophisticated Pop listeners very happy.

Updated: 16/02/2021Posted: 16/02/2021

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