Last Song is the only piano and bass duet track and it is the best on the record. This sums up the whole thing. Andersen and Balke are the outstanding players and they are far happier when freed from Thowsen’s stiff, very vertical drumming. Riisnaes is a fairly anonymous soloist, although a very good musician and the four men have worked out some neat routines. Andersen wrote all eight tunes and very good they are. He plays well throughout, Balke has an excellent solo on Outhouse and Riisnaes shines in his reflective treatment of the excellent Sad Day. A couple of the reed unisons were born in the mixing room, but this would be a pleasant record by four young Norwegians if only we could shut out the agitated drum figures.
Discography
305 W. 18 St; Last Song; Outhouse; Song For A Sad Day (21¾ min) – Clouds In My Head; Cycles; Siv; The Sword Under His Wings (23 min)
Knut Riisnaes (ten/sop/flt); Jon Balke (pno); Arild Andersen (bs); Pal Thowsen (dm). Oslo, February 1975.
(ECM ST 1059 £3.29)
