With no ideological axe to grind, this splendid Danish piano trio session engages fruitfully with questions of spontaneity and literacy, improvisation and composition, solo voice and group interplay. As Kristian Leth’s sleeve note reveals, “This album was fully improvised, the songs were written as they were played. The solos, the comping, everything happened as it happened in the room between Lennart Ginman (b), Thomas Blachman (d) and Carsten Dahl (p). Nothing was written down in advance. Three old friends checked in, tuned in, turned on and got on with the work. This album is a recording of what happened.”
I’ve played the disc more than several times now and the abiding impression I have is that here is one particular form of improvisation – the highly literate sort. First of all, unlike many an improviser in the heady early days of “free improvisation” these guys clearly love to swing. Every track here will get your fingers clicking and your toes tapping, whatever the tempo (and there are some beautiful reflective pieces here, such as Autumn Rhythm).
Secondly, rather than impress or force their own personalities on the music, these players are so deeply into the poetics of jazz that the spontaneous emergence of long-familiar melodic motifs or rhythmic sequences is welcomed, rather than shunned in the name of some supposedly crucial need to be “original”. You can hear transmuted traces of Evans and Monk here, and so many others, as Leth’s fine sleeve note details (but does not over-elaborate) for us.
The result? Music of no small, often mellow beauty and organic consequence, rich in melody, diverse dynamics and tasty rhythm: a healthy antidote to the idea that, above all, an artist must seek not to resemble anyone else. I’d love to be able to say that, if you’re into jazz, I guarantee you will “get” this album. Then again, isn’t one of the wonders of jazz (precisely as played here) that there are no guarantees? But please, take a chance on this refreshingly unforced and superbly rendered music!
Discography
The Art Of Finding Without Seeking; Scandinavian Woods; A Children’s Walk; Improvised Composition As A Goal For Human Behaviour; The Spirit Of Youth And Nowness; A Troubleless Everyday; The Rock And Roll Swing Experience; Avantgarde Muzak In The Lush Palm Garden; Autumn Rhythm; Beneath The Moonlit Sky Of Copenhagen; Waiting Room Anxiety Blues; Socialism Works In Group Of 3; The Bliss Of Sonic Swing; Up North Seasonal Affective Disorder; See You Again In Carnegie Hall (48.06)
Lennart Ginman (b); Thomas Blachman (d); Carsten Dahl (p). Copenhagen, 8-10 December 2021.
Storyville 101 4357
