Elliott: Girls with Radical Haircuts

The three young Danish musicians who comprise Elliott— guitarist Alex Jønsson and double bassist Jens Mikkel Madsen, two-thirds of the indie-pop-jazz Foyn Trio! with Norwegian vocalist Live Foyn Friis, and trumpeter Jakob Sørensen, are aware of all music that was created in the last one hundred years. As the trio declares: "we already have everything from Billie Holiday to The Beatles and Björk," yet this trio is definite that there is more that it can offer.

These three award winning musicians now live outside Denmark. The music of Elliott is highly melodic and structured in clear song formats, almost as improvised pop songs, but with harmonic depth and sophistication. The interplay, as can be expected, is intimate, reserved and emphatic, with enough room for solo improvisations, but always in the service of the music. Sørensen, with breathy, vibrato- laden sound, or Jønsson, with clean guitar lines, usually begin to outline the melodic theme, while Madsen provides the solid rhythmic base, and all keep solidifying the melodic thread. All the songs convey colorful and innocent story lines and are not shy from stressing its emotional focus.

Often this interplay brings to mind the chamber, country-tinged outfits of guitarist Bill Frisell with trumpeter Ron Miles, especially on the opening piece, "Øresund, Baby" and the title song. Other songs, as "Dark Blue," "Paul" and "Mme. Joseph Perraud," have a fragile, dreamy quality and few, as "Dear Deer" and "Alfons," have an infectious, sing-along theme and may be used later with the genre-binding Foyn Trio!

Elliott offers beautiful, disarming music that lingers in the mind.