Nils Økland’s current quintet has been together at least since 2012, when they recorded Kjølvatn for ECM, followed up by 2015’s Lysing for Hubro. With harmonium-player Sigbjørn Apeland, fiddler Økland has also recorded a number of duo and trio sets since 2000.
That continuity pays huge dividends, as the musicians are all attuned to each other’s voices and fit in well together. Indeed, it is hard at times to distinguish one instrument from another, such are their shared sonorities.
Inevitably it is Økland’s Hardanger fiddles that dominate, effortlessly soaring over the other contributions. The Hardanger fiddle – regarded as Norway’s national instrument – first made its appearance in 1651 and featured a rounded, narrow body; later versions were shaped more like a violin, although having eight or nine strings rather than four. It produces a haunting sound, resonant and commanding in sound and effect. It plays well against Apeland’s harmonium, and despite Michael Tucker’s strictures about the fact that the pair don’t play jazz (review of the duo ECM set Glimmer), this folk music has to me the same rural simplicity and depth, and the same jazz ethos, that rural blues songs do. It is music to make you think, and let your mind wander, even as far as Cairo, where Økland and Nystrøm learned the rhythmically energetic Kairo from flute player Ahmed El Arnab, and Shetland, home to the dance that inspired Tilley Plump.
In complete contrast, Lys is an ethereal fiddle solo taken at the slowest speed, while the following Morgenkvist is dark and complex, aided by Stene’s mellifluous vibes and electronic effects, and a wonderful baritone eruption from Nystrøm. Kraft is all violent sonic eruption, the title track – which means “gleam” – a beautiful, wistful elegy, the concluding Silhuett an Økland solo masterpiece.
For my jazz ears, this is an utterly cohesive and compelling set that repays repeated listening.
Discography
(1) Minimalvals; (2) Framover; Svevn; (1) Kairo; (2) Lys; (1) Morgenkvist; Kraft; (2) Gjenskinn; (1) Tilley Plump; Silhuett (40.44)
Økland (Hardangerfiddles, vn); Rolf-Erik Nystrøm (as, bar); Sigbjørn Apeland (harm, elp); Mats Eilertsen (b); Håkon Mørch Stene (pc, vib, elec). (1) Etne, Norway, 23–24 November 2021. (2) Asker, Norway, 7 September, 20 December 2022.
Hubro HUBROCD2661
