Danel Bingert: Berit In Space

Berit In Space is available in all formats from LP to CD and digital except cassette, but you don't have to play the vinyl version to get at least some of the vinyl experience. The album's very clever sound incorporates what is described as a "true-vinyl-record-remaster" that includes a needle drop as each "side" begins, plus that end of the "side" snap of the stylus. The sound returns to the warmth of the pre-digital listening experience, as does the music presented. Bassist Daniel Bingert can be heard in JH3 (Jari Haapalainen Trio), but he cannot be heard on Berit In Space, because he elected to limit his role to composer and studio champion of this music.

Not only are the vinyl sounds a renaissance of the 1950s and '60s, so too is the music. "Cinco De Mayo" could easily have been a missing track from Miles Davis' Ascenseur Pour L'Échafaud (Fontana, 1958), with its luscious arrangements around the muted trumpet of Karl Olandersson. Bingert draws not only from the hipness of Davis, but also from his association with Gil Evans on tracks like "Sven-Eric Snyltaren," "Henry And Bernard" and "Berit In Space."

The latter piece is an excellent example how Bingert has arranged the music to be sinuous without sounding constrained. The flow draws on the organic talents of Olandersson, saxophonists Jonas Kullhammar and Per Texas Johansson, pianist Charlie Malmberg, bassist Torbjorn Zetterberg and drummer Moussa Fadera. Is it easy to imagine Bingert as a modern Billy Strayhorn arranging "Kaya Boca" for a small group Duke Ellington recording. The recording's warmth is evident throughout, and obviously accentuated by the vinyl sounds.

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