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Mats Eilertsen: Reveries and Revelations
by John Eyles
In rock music, the heyday of “and friends" albums (Leon Russell or Eric Clapton releases for examples) seems long past; on such records, the headliner was joined by a famous star names on different tracks, their presence helping to attract publicity and boost sales. The last hooray of the genre probably came with charity recordings such as Band Aid's “Do They Know It's Christmas," “We Are the World" and their ilk. However, away from rock music, Reveries and Revelations suggests ...
Continue ReadingMats Eilertsen Trio: And Then Comes The Night
by Mark Sullivan
Norwegian bassist Mats Eilertsen has a large discography as a performer, but his compositional talents are equally striking. His previous ECM release as a leader, 2016's Rubicon, was a composer's showcase featuring a septet. But he has also worked in much smaller configurations, for example Meander (Ora Fonogram, 2017) his recent duet recording with guitarist Jo David Meyer Lysne. This album reunites him with pianist Harmen Fraanje (who appeared on Rubicon) and drummer Thomas Strønen (a fellow band ...
Continue ReadingMats Eilertsen: And Then Comes The Night
by Mike Jurkovic
On their first offering for ECM as a trio, And Then Comes The Night, stalwart label mates: bassist/leader/composer {Mats Eilertsen, drummer Thomas Strønen, and ethereal pianist Harmen Fraanje deftly create a sustained work of near impossible beauty and sublime human interaction. With evanescent shifts of time, shaded harmony and tone, Eilertsen--his nuanced writing highlighted on the acutely hailed Rubicon (ECM, 2016)--the bassist boldly strips down from septet to a trio, resulting in a music more expansive, more revelatory ...
Continue ReadingSkydive Trio: Sun Sparkle
by Karl Ackermann
Norwegian guitarist Thomas Dahl's primary project is the Skydive Trio with bassist Mats Eilertsen and drummer Olavi Louhivuouri. The trio is an off-shoot of a quintet of the same name that includes tenor saxophonist Tore Brunborg and pianist Alexi Tuomarila. Sun Sparkle is the second release from the smaller group whose sound, like the album title, reflects ideas from both familiar and eclectic musical worlds. Dahl has collected a number of honors in his native land, including Norway's ...
Continue ReadingSkydive Trio: Sun Sparkle
by Gareth Thompson
There are parts of Norway where the sun hardly sets for months on end. It stays bright all night and dawn is never dark. The essence of this strange polar light finds its way into Sun Sparkle, the second album from Norwegian act Skydive Trio. Its predecessor, Sun Moee, also referenced our great burning star, which can hardly be coincidence. There is something both mythic and solar about this trio's music. Fittingly it also comes over as equally retro and ...
Continue ReadingMats Eilertsen: Rubicon
by John Kelman
It's no news to learn that we're the confluence of our many experiences: life, love, music....everything that we are comes from where we've been, what we've done, what we've experienced. That said, it doesn't mean that we can't move in completely new directions or try something completely foreign to us. Still, it's almost impossible to do anything--even things that are intentionally new and different--without there being some inescapable links to our past. With Mats Eilertsen's evocative Rubicon, the double bassist ...
Continue ReadingMats Eilertsen Trio: Sails Set
by John Kelman
Sophomore recordings can be a challenge, especially if the debut is a winner. Slowly but surely, Mats Eilertsen has been building up his own discography as a leader, and starting to rival the Norwegian bassist's larger group of recordings as a sideman/guest. SkyDive (Hubro, 2012) expanded on Radio Yonder (Hubro, 2009) by turning an already superb quartet to an even better quintet. But for his second recording with the open-minded trio debuted on Elegy (Hubro, 2011), rather than change personnel, ...
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