Articles by David Bruggink
Rhythms Meet Algorithms: Sparks Fly When Jazz Musician Oded Tzur Partners With Engineer Vansh Makh
by David Bruggink
Jazz and mobile apps may not be typically mentioned in the same breath, but saxophonist Oded Tzur, celebrated by All About Jazz for a string of albums merging jazz with Indian classical music, is changing that perception. Vansh Makh, a Bay area-based engineer, joined forces with Tzur to create Timeseer, described as “the first and only HiFi Indian classical music app." Timeseer offers a distinctly visual approach to rhythm, portraying complex musical patterns through accessible geometric designs. Devotees ...
read moreMette Henriette: Drifting
by David Bruggink
With her self-titled double album debut in 2015, Norwegian saxophonist Mette Henriette arrived on ECM Records, and the international jazz scene, with an impressively assured artistic statement. On it she introduced her versatile technical skills, running the gamut from untamed skronk to near-silent breathing, all presented with her wintry perspective--a perfect fit for the chilly atmospheres that have become a trademark of ECM Records. Beyond the stock-in-trade chill of Nordic jazz, Henriette has a particular interest in the textures ...
read moreJon Balke: Siwan: Hafla
by David Bruggink
A large appeal of ECM Records has always been its encouragement of cross-cultural collaboration. Across countries and genres, listeners and critics alike have reveled in records from Codona (1979) to Le Pas du Chat Noir (2001), Chants, Hymns and Dances (2004) and Arco Iris (2011). There is joy in seeing musicians from diverse backgrounds come together to have their compositions treated with ECM's trademark recording quality. Norwegian composer, keyboardist, and percussionist Jon Balke's Siwan project, now in its third incarnation, has seen multiple arrangements ...
read moreOded Tzur: Isabela
by David Bruggink
Saxophonist Oded Tzur burst onto the jazz scene in 2012 with a remarkable approach to his instrument that drew upon his studies with Hariprasad Chaurasia, a master of Hindustani Classical music. Joining pianist Shai Maestro, bassist Petros Klampanis, and drummer Ziv Ravitz, he formed a New York-based quartet that began performing locally and ultimately released a debut album, Like a Great River (Yellowbird), in 2015. On that thrilling recording, the wider world was exposed to Tzur's unique mélange of Indian ragas, ...
read moreTord Gustavsen Trio: Opening
by David Bruggink
After 2018's stellar The Other Side, Tord Gustavsen again graces listeners with a trio format. On this outing, ecologically-minded double bassist Sigurd Hole is replaced by ECM newcomer Steinar Raknes. A prolific recording artist with everything from dusky alt-country and americana to post-bop and free jazz to his name, Raknes introduces new flavors to the trio's palette. Gustavsen, along with stalwart percussionist Jarle Vespestad, proves to be an ideal collaborator with Raknes' diverse musical background. Opening begins even less conspicuously than ...
read moreSigurd Hole: Roraima
by David Bruggink
Norwegian upright bassist Sigurd Hole has stood out in the recent past as both a contributor (with his elegant performance on Tord Gustavsen's 2018 ECM album, The Other Side) and bandleader (through his 2018 Elvesang album Encounters). His solo explorations are equally noteworthy, as on the wide-ranging double album Lys / Mørke (Elvesang, 2020). Recorded on the remote arctic islands of Fleinvær, he thoughtfully probed the relationship between the high-pitched harmonics and drones of his instrument and the spectral winds ...
read moreTriosence: Hidden Beauty
by David Bruggink
Triosence may not yet be a household name among jazz aficionados in the United States, but since the turn of the millennium, they have become a fixture of the German jazz scene. In addition to performing internationally, they take a distinctly cosmopolitan approach to their sound. Past albums have shown the trio intermingling aromas of Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, and Hidden Beauty is no different in that respect. However, its compositions are the group's most taut and ...
read moreNils Okland Band: Kjølvatn
by David Bruggink
A seasoned solo performer, sideman and leader, Nils Økland is a frequent ECM Records contributor capable of playing expressively across multiple styles. His hardanger fiddle and violin can range from poised and elegant—see Lysøen -Hommage à Ole Bull (2011), his collaboration with pianist Sigbjørn Apeland—to raucous, as on the Dirty Three-esque Lumen Drones (2014). For Kjølvatn, he assembles a quintet capable of evocative textures as well as hushed austerity. ECM mainstay Mats Eilertsen plays double bass; Sigbjørn Apeland ...
read moreTord Gustavsen Trio: The Other Side
by David Bruggink
In spiritual parlance, “the other side" often refers to a realm beyond death. Tord Gustavsen is no stranger to integrating music to religious practice, performing frequent “Musikkmeditasjon" concerts in Norwegian churches. It would be reductive, however, to describe his music in New Age terms. Gustavsen is a master composer and improviser, and The Other Side is introspective music performed with sublime subtlety, always keeping one eye trained on the avant-garde. This marks Gustavsen's first trio recording since Being ...
read moreTigran Hamasyan: Atmosphères
by David Bruggink
A cross-cultural collaboration between Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen, guitarist Eivind Aarset, sound manipulator Jan Bang, and Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan, Atmosphères seems to be a quintessential ECM release in certain ways. It exhibits qualities that come readily to mind when imagining the ECM aesthetic: sonic minimalism, musical gestures with exquisite subtleness and thrilling, sometimes discordant, experimentation. Henriksen, Aarset and Bang have joined in various configurations on previous releases, such as Henriksen's Cartography (ECM, 2008) and Places of Worship ...
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