Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Atomic: Feet Music
Atomic: Feet Music
It is easier to define their music by what it isn't rather than by what it is. It isn't "European" if one interprets that adjective as synonymous with cool, ECM-style detachment. (Yet it is unmistakably European in its openness and willingness to question accepted norms.) It isn't free jazz, despite the nod to Ornette. (However, it exists because free jazz happened, and it draws upon it. If one were to need a label, "post-free" would best describe this music.)
Atomic grew out of the group Element that was a conscious reaction to the ECM school, playing high-energy Coltrane-inspired music. The Atomic rhythm-section came from Element, and is a formidable unit; they are highly attuned and responsive to each other and to the horns, able to generate a groove that is loose yet funky. They act as a launch pad for soloing not a strait jacket. Throughout, the solos never outstay their welcome; they are focussed and compelling.
This is an album that passes the "instant replay test"; as soon as its fifty-five minutes are over, you want to hear it again. A stunning first album. Debut of the year?
Track Listing
Naera Grensen; Longing for Martin; Do It; Den Flytiga Magneten; Psalm; El Coto; Prayer; Fifth Circle; Krilons Resa
Personnel
Atomic
band / ensemble / orchestraFredril Ljungkvist, tenor & soprano saxophones; Magnus Broo, trumpet; Havard Wiik, piano; Ingebrigt Hakerr Flaten, bass; Paal Nilssen-Love, drums
Album information
Title: Feet Music | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: Jazzland Recordings
About Atomic
Tags
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Become a Sustaining Member
Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.
Help Build the Future of All About Jazz
Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.
Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.
Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.
