Barely a decade since his graduation from the Jazzlinja in Trondheim, pianist and composer Kjetil Mulelid has built a solid international reputation as an improviser in the line of Evans, Jarrett and Mehldau. He is also a chief creative catalyst with the genre-bending quartet Wako, but with Agoja Mulelid is entering new territory. Testing his compositional mettle at the helm of several medium-sized ensembles, this may just be his most autobiographical work to date.
The idea for this session was hatched in 2022, Mulelid’s twin inspirations coming from the the birth of his first child (“Agoja” was his son’s first recognisable word) and the terrible human tragedies which followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The music has a bittersweet air that perfectly befits his contrasting themes, and Mulelid grants the stellar cast free rein to impose their personalities on his music.
The elegiac opener Alone finds Henriksen’s breathy trumpet leading the melodic line in his own inimitable style, while Mathias Eick and pedal-steel guitarist Lars Horntveth add hazy pastel hues to the wondrous Song For Eliah (dedicated to Mulelid’s son). Heroes taps into a warm vein of Americana and takes an introspective turn, the sense of melancholy carrying over into Thousands Of Lost Stories, a short piano solo.
Seim’s doleful tenor offers commentary on the tragedies in Ukraine on A Prayer For Peace, a striking contrast to the pensive post-rock grooves and soft pedal steel, vibes and electric piano textures of Waiting Song. Chapter Ø sees Mulelid exchanging playful blows with Røed’s quicksilver trumpet, and in one final surprise Mulelid signs-off with the dramatic Kingdom, Slowly Disappearing, a Zappa-like symphony created with a bank of keyboards.
An album in which Mulelid’s presence is perhaps more often felt as an invisible hand than star soloist, Agoja is nevertheless a quietly impressive achievement.
Discography
Alone; Song For Eliah; Heroes; Thousands Of Lost Stories; A Prayer For Peace; Waiting Song; Chapter, Ø; Kingdom, Slowly Disappearing (41.36)
Mulelid (p, kyb) with Bárdur Reinert Poulsen (b, elb); Andreas Winther (d); Arve Henriksen (t, elec) on 1; Selma French (vn) on 1; Martin Myrhe Olsen (ts, ss) on 1 & 3; Mathias Eick (t) on 2; Lars Horntveth (pedal steel) on 2, 3, 6 & 8; Trygve Seim (ts) on 2 & 5; Signe Emmeluth (as) on 5; Sasha Berliner (vib) on 6; Lyder Røed (t) on 7. Oslo, 6-8 December 2022.
Odin / Grappa Records CD9589
