Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Moskus: Mestertyven

7

Moskus: Mestertyven

By

View read count
Moskus: Mestertyven
The Norwegian piano trio Moskus—pianist Anja Lauvdal, double bassist Fredrik Luhr Dietrichson and drummer Hans Hulbækmo— decided to change its course on its sophomore release Mestertyven (Master Thief in Norwegian}. The trio's debut album Salmesykkel (Hubro, 2012) was recorded in the prestigious Atlantis Grammofon Studio in Stockholm while Mestertyven was recorded in the 17th century wooden Risør Kirke (church of the Holy Spirit), a venue for a summer chamber music festival. The grand piano was exchanged for an upright one and the trio well-rehearsed pieces for a recording session without any tunes ready.

These conscious choices not only left room for experimentation and invention but forced the three musicians to rethink and invent their roles within the trio. Moskus' sense of melody, playfulness, and humor is kept on its new album, but the unique, intimate atmosphere of the historical church and this particular recording called for an informal, adventurous approach. The intuitive, experimental version of Moskus' sound is now a tight, democratic, and egalitarian unit.

The eleven pieces are brief and concise, focused on one idea, eccentric and unpredictable as it may sound, exhaust this idea and move on to a fresher one. Few of these ideas are spread over more than three minutes and the five minutes of "Tandem med Sankt Peter" is an exception. Its repetition and the playful rhythm solidify its tense, hypnotic progression. The inventive pulse of Hulbækmo, not attached to any pattern, or color pieces as "Yttersvingen" in dark, mysterious shades. The trio experiments with cyclical Monkish phrases on "Rullings" and in an-open-ended, intense free improvisations on "Fuglene var i ertehumør" and "Glasblåsern." Only on "Tradisjonskvelern" Moskus explores familiar Nordic terrains of lyrical, melancholic ballads.

An imaginative, fearless trio.

Track Listing

Fjesing; Tandem med Sankt Peter; Yttersvingen; Jag är ett ägg; Rullings; Lille Trille; Fuglene var i ertehumør; Glasblåsern; Leverpostei med brie; Tradisjonskvelern; Gammel-Erik.

Personnel

Anja Lauvdal: piano; Fredrik Luhr Dietrichson: double bass; Hans Hulbækmo: drums.

Album information

Title: Mestertyven | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Hubro Records

Tags

Comments

About Moskus

Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar

PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.