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Torstein Lofthus
Chrome Hill: En Route
by Alberto Bazzurro
Quartetto norvegese di belle prospettive, questo Chrome Hill, in possesso di un suono molto al passo con i tempi, scuro e descrittivo il giusto, avvolgente, miscelando acustico ed elettr(on)ico in oculato bilanciamento, il che assicura un apprezzamento di massima e fa sì che il disco sia ascoltato con una certa attenzione e convinzione, anche se dopo un po' vi si avverte dentro un nonsoché di (fin troppo) déjà écouté, appunto per essere al suddetto passo con i suddetti tempi (o ...
Continue ReadingHedvig Mollestad & Trondheim Jazz Orchestra: Maternity Beat
by Gareth Thompson
Norwegian jazz-rock guitarist Hedvig Mollestad has never shied away from the big themes. Previous outings have seen her dabble with notions of Greek mythology and weather conditions, while channelling her love of guitar greats from Jimmy Page to John McLaughlin. Now with Maternity Beat, she offers a series of musings on the nature of family and social justice issues. Mollestad is backed here by the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, whose many credits include Chick Corea and Joshua Redman. It is Mollestad's ...
Continue ReadingMathias Eick: When We Leave
by Mario Calvitti
Per il suo quinto album da titolare per la ECM, il trombettista norvegese Mathias Eick riparte da Ravensburg, il precedente lavoro pubblicato nel 2018, mantenendo quelle atmosfere rendendole un po' più sognanti e malinconiche, e confermando in toto i musicisti che vi avevano preso parte. A questi si aggiunge il chitarrista Stian Carstensen, già presente sul primo disco di Eick The Door, che con la sua pedal steel guitar incrementa la già ricca tavolozza timbrica a disposizione del gruppo, spargendo ...
Continue ReadingRed Kite: Apophenian Bliss
by Doug Collette
Even more so than on Red Kite's wholly excellent eponymous debut, the follow-up release, Apophenian Bliss, by this Norwegian quartet illustrates how fine are the lines between metal, prog and fusion music. The powerful dynamism this band commands generates thoughts of a more free-form version of the electric Return To Forever quartets, electric music for the mind and body that would be ideal as a soundtrack to an epic piece of sci-fi, while the disc's cover art (by Per Spjotvold) ...
Continue ReadingElephant9: Arrival Of The New Elders
by Chris May
Unlike jazz or rock, both of which originated in the US, jazz-rock was born simultaneously in the US and Europe, with a British band the first off the blocks. Soft Machine's eponymous debut was released in 1968. It was followed by drummer Tony Williams' Lifetime's Emergency! (Polydor) in 1969 and trumpeter Miles Davis' Bitches Brew (Columbia) in 1970. So, unlike European jazz musicians in the mother tradition, European jazz-rock musicians have never had to “catch up" with their American cousins. ...
Continue ReadingHedvig Mollestad: Ekhidna
by Gareth Thompson
In 2003, the English writer John Murray published his Booker Prize-listed novel Jazz Etc. It narrated the life and times of a female guitarist, the improbably named Fanny Golightly, from working class Cumbria. One observer in the story describes Golightly's playing thus: “I suppose jazz is the only name for it. It was as delirious as heavy metal, but far too complex to be any sort of rock. Most of the time she was playing as if she wanted to ...
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