Amalie Dahl's Dafnie EXTENDED: Live at Moldejazz

Over the course of a mere five years, Danish saxophonist Amalie Dahl has garnered well-deserved praise as a bandleader, improviser, and composer. A year after releasing the critically-acclaimed and award-winning Står Op Med Solen (Sonic Transmissions, 2024), Dahl expanded her quintet Dafnie to a 12- member combo.  They appeared live at the Norwegian Moldejazz Festival.  The resulting recording is at once earthy and sophisticated, with a sublime balance of stimulating dissonance and captivating mellifluence.

The seven tracks are thematically linked, making for a cohesive and cinematic work with plenty of room for spontaneity.  After the "Intro," pianist Lisa Ullen starts the contemplative "Floating" with her resonant, percussive chords.  After a performance that is simultaneously poignant and sensitive, Ullén engages the rest of the musicians in a mystical dialogue.  Flutist Henriette Eilertsen's reverberating notes rise above the band's refrains. Keyboardist Anna Ueland creates a haunting electronic backdrop that ebbs and flows for dramatic effect.  Out of the multilayered interplay, Dahl's warm, serpentine alto emerges, followed by brief and expressive phrases from trumpeter Oscar Andreas Haug and trombonist Jorgen Bjelkerud.  

Bassist Nicolas Leirtro, begins an angular solo that spams the end of "Floating" to the opening of "Drifting_Turning."  As his musings fade into the collective interplay, the group launches into a fiery and provocative melody that packs a punch.  Ueland builds an intriguing soundscape on her synthesizer, which the rhythm section backs. Through the front line's passionate multilayered interplay, individual voices briefly emerge.  Dahl, Bjelkerud, Haug, and baritone saxophonist sofia salvo each take turns embellishing the spirited repartee. The drummer duo of Trym Saugstad Karlsen and Veslemoy Narvesen propel the piece with their thunderous polyrhythms to its conclusion.

In contrast, "Parallels," which follows, is eerily serene.  Accordionist Ida Løvli Hidle and Karlsen,build an otherworldly atmosphere.  Slowly, the rest of the ensemble enters, and warm, harmonious music ensues.  There is still a somber undercurrent, especially as Bjelkerud delivers an eloquent, melancholy solo over a percolating cadence.  The forlorn intersection of brief monologues from Dahl, Salvo, Hidle, and Ullén closes the somber tune.

The sublime "Longing" serves as the concert's wistful finale.  Bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten's elegant improvisation is punctuated by the horns' recurring vamps.  Ullén plays a series of cascading chimes, while the wind instruments contribute yearning, undulating lines.  This sets the stage for Dahl's tender extemporization that brims with poetry.  Hidle and Haug take turns to echo Dahl before the trumpeter takes center stage with his burnished tones.  Hidle's sonorous accordion echoes the soloists, while the rest of the orchestra follows in a lyrical chorus, underscoring the composition's bittersweet nostalgia. 

This is a brilliant and exquisite album. On it, Dahl demonstrates an artistic maturity beyond her years.  Dahl has woven a vibrant tapestry of emotions, ideas, and sound into a unique opus that pulses with life.  In sum, Live at Moldejazz is a flawless gem and one of the best releases of 2026.