Astro: Eclipse: State Of The Baritone, Volume 6

For composer, author and saxophonist Anders Svanoe place is the space. That last part needs no correction as the proud Wisconsinite creates an abundance of sound 150 miles north of Chicago. He has been releasing his State Of The Baritone series, and Astro Eclipse is volume 6. Previously, he has investigated Latin jazz with El Dragón: State Of The Baritone Volume 5 (Irrabagast Records, 2022), Solo Flight: State Of The Baritone Volume 4 ((Irrabagast Records, 2019), plus a couple of State of The Baritone trio recordings, and a sextet.

A Chicago thread runs through his music, as he has performed and recorded with AACM legend Roscoe Mitchell's Transatlantic Art Ensemble and Note Factory. With Astro Eclipse, Svanoe's connection to Sun Ra's Windy City tenure is evident throughout. A.S.T.R.O. is an acronym for his jazz collective, "Anders Svanoe's Teleporting Rhythmic Orchestra." Opening with "Klokka Er Fem—that is not Klingon but Norwegian for "its five o'clock"—the ensemble swirls Ra-like horns around a helix of percussion. Svanoe's compositions can undulate between taut police drama big band tracks such as "Whistle Stop" to the disorderliness of "Images" with its successful endeavor to herd Svanoe's cats i.e. horn section. "For Richard Davis" was penned for the legendary bassist and member of Eric Dolphy's, Louka Patenaude's guitar, the composition flexes its orchestral muscles with heavy drama accented with Geoff Brady's vibraphone and Michael Brenneis' electronics. The same can be said of "Ghosts" with its outer space lines woven throughout the arrangement. The disc ends with the wild ride surf composition "Memories." Surf Wisconsin? Why not.