I suspect that bassist, composer and Berklee professor Bruno Råberg will be a relative unknown to many. Born in Sweden in 1954, his first major break came at age 20 when he joined the group of trombonist Eje Thelin. He emigrated to the US in 1981 to take up a scholarship at the New England Conservatory in Boston, and his surprisingly modest leadership discography includes collaborations with Donny McCaslin, Bruce Barth and Bob Moses.
Look Inside is Råberg’s first album of solo bass, its title conveying something of the mental resolve required to succeed in such an unforgiving space. His short but insightful liner notes speak of the inescapable interdependencies between composition and improvisation, and alongside his many decades of experience it’s a symbiosis that so seems to animate this meticulously structured but free-flowing set.
Opener Island Pathways draws you in gently, a short series of disconnected melodic motifs which Råberg fashions into a continuous line. Chennai Reminiscence draws on his studies in India, and as well as containing some of the most thrilling rhythmic passages of the album. Råberg’s lissom arco work brings a near liquid quality to the descending theme.
Gyrating Spheres revolves around a curious juxtaposition of rhythmic tapping and pizzicato runs, taking a more abstract turn. An unabashedly lyrical reading of Ellington and Strayhorn’s Prelude To A Kiss is the pick of the standards, while the dark wintry hues of Stillness – Epilogue are the near perfect conclusion to such s searching and profoundly reflective set.
If solo bass recitals strike you as a rather spartan format, think again. Oozing warmth and intimacy, the sheer variety and musicality of Råberg’s playing ensures that there are no painful longueurs.
Discography
Island Pathways; Kansala – Nardis; Chennai Reminiscence; A Minor Excursion; Prelude To A Kiss; Gyrating Spheres; A Space In Between; June Poem; My Man’s Gone Now; Ode To Spring; Stillness – Epilogue (37.40)
Råberg (b). Lexington MA., 20-24 June 2022.
Orbis Music OM1222
