This album teams Rypdal’s dynamic little quintet with members of the Sudfunk Symphony Orchestra. In reality it is really a rock/jazz unit made respectable and this might well deter some readers.
This reckons without the talent of the leader, the varied and creative drumming of Christensen and the often trombone-like French-horn work of Ulleberg. The S.S.O. also have their moments and the writing for strings is designed to complement the angularity of the rock rhythms. The combination of these elements make side one a real success.
Regrettably, the same cannot be said of the reverse. On Whenever I Seem, which takes up the entire side, Hedrich’s viola and Geiger’s violin solos take the music outside the rock or jazz idiom completely. Even Rypdal seems affected by the formal implications of the composition and we are left with an uneasy compromise.
Discography
Silver Bird Is Heading For The Sun; The Hunt (19½ min) – Whenever I Seem To Be Far Away (17½ min)
Terje Rypdal (gtr); Odd Ulleberg (fr-hn); Pete Knutsen (el-pno/mellotron); Svelnung Hovenslo (bs); Jon Christensen (perc). Members Of Sudfunk Symphony Orchestra: featuring Christian Hedrlch (viola) and Helmut Geiger (vln). Conducted by Mladen Gutesha.
(ECM 1045ST £2.85)
