Jan Bang, Arve Henriksen, Ingar Zach, Eivind Aarset, Fames Institute Orchestra: After The Wildfire
The press release tells us that this music, commissioned by the Skopje Jazz Festival for its 42nd edition in 2023, was first performed in Skopje with the Fames Institute Orchestra and Macedonian voices, arranged and conducted by Džijan Emin. The press release goes on to outline the way in which the project evolved further into the release we have here.
At 31 minutes this is one of the shortest albums I have reviewed in some time. But I am not complaining about this. The lyrical intensity here is such that another 15 minutes or so would have only served to diminish the overall impact of a performance which, for all its rich range of resource and personnel, to my ears registers as a triumph of (largely rubato) distilled thought and floating poetic overtones.
All the Norwegian participants listed above are well-known for their work in what is often called ambient electro-jazz. All perform excellently here, conjuring music of singular cross-genre character, with sterling work from the Fames Institute Orchestra, including an especially striking vocal from Veira Josofovska Milosevsk on Acacia. At times a deep, meditative ostinato pulse emerges (Halfway Between Noon and Sunset) while at other moments a fierce primal folk element dominates (Pehlivan Fighters). And then there are sublime moments of swelling orchestral figures conjuring a mood as eerie as it is evanescent (Seeing) as well as precipitating some strong bowed cello passages from Milan Ninkovic (Grassland). Henriksen sings, floats, and sobs above and within it all: sample Abandoned Cathedral II, for me the standout track, on which he is at his plaintive best.
Discography
Seeing (Eyes Closed); Acacia; Meriidian Moon; Grassland; Halfway Between Noon And Sunset; Pehlivan Fighters; Abandoned Cathedral II; Remnants (31.00)
Jan Bang (live sampling, elecs); Arve Henriksen (t, elecs, v); Ingar Zach (pc); Eivind Aarset (elg, elecs); Fames Institute Orchestra, conducted by Dzijan Emin, featuring ao Veira Josofovska Milosevska (v); Milan Ninkovic (clo). Skopje and Kristiansand, 2023-25.
Punkt Editions 3779736/Jazzland Recordings
Tone of Voice Orchestra: Running From The Devil
This terrific Danish ensemble’s previous eponymous release was recorded for Stunt Records and gained a slew of ecstatic reviews, including my own in June 2022. The brain-child of Danish saxophonist Fredrik Lundin and his compatriot, vocalist Trinelise Vaering, TOVO draws upon many sources, from Nordic folk melody and mood to diversely rocking rhythms and jazz sophistication – the whole adding up to one big barrel of joy.
If you like, as I do, Les Double Six or the Swingle Singers you’ll appreciate the quality of the vocal parts on Dominoes – distant as they are from the impeccable precision of those classic Gallic ensembles. There is a wonderful combination here of wildness and discipline, of rolling danceable rhythms (Running From The Devil, Coming Up For Air), refigured folk tropes (the violin-led Belly Up, Trommedans, which features fine work from Lundin) and near-philosophical reflection, often from a female or eco-sensitive but never tiresomely preachy perspective (Tourist At God’s Mercy, We Owe It To The Planet). At times the music can have something of a pop-music inflection and the closing Hymn (Lived And Learned) could just become a cross-over country hit. However the main thing to enjoy on this irresistible album is its overall zest and bold originality.
Discography
Tourist At God’s Mercy; Running From The Devil; Coming Up For Air; Belly Up (Fisken Ligger På Hviden Sand); Imperfections; Dans Om Efteråret; Dominoes; We Owe It To The Planet; Trommedans; Hymn (Lived And Learned) (38.27)
Elisabeth Vik, Lene Nørgaard, Trinelise Væring and Nanna Schou (v); Arendse Nordtorp Pedersen (vn); Fredrik Lundin (ts, ss); Christian Mohr Levisen (bagpipes); Joel Illerhag (b); Jesper Uno Kofoed and Knut Finsrud (d, pc). Copenhagen, 2023-24.
Word for Word Records
