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ALBUM REVIEW October 13, 2019

Per Mathisen: Sounds of 3 Edition 2

Read "Sounds of 3 Edition 2" reviewed by Geno Thackara

The power of three indeed proved to be a magic charm for Per Mathisen on the first Sounds of 3 (Losen, 2016), so it's probably only natural that he'd revisit the format sooner or later. What's more of a surprise, perhaps, is how things change. Where that recording was a loud and brash slice of jazz-rock, its colorful sequel slides more toward the jazzy side of that equation. This recording actually tones down the wattage just a little from the ...

ALBUM REVIEW August 19, 2018

Per Mathisen/Jan Gunnar Hoff/Horacio Hernandez: Barxeta II

By Geno Thackara

Per Mathisen and Jan Gunnar Hoff understandably look forward to their jaunts to Barxeta, Spain, as much as anyone else might look forward to favorite summer holidays. For them it's really a working vacation: of course the sunny surroundings are beautiful and the home cooking is doubtlessly excellent, but they're also there to play hard and create something exciting as best they can. It works: the second in their ongoing series shows them romping through an energetic fusion set in ...

ALBUM REVIEW August 18, 2016

Per Mathisen: Sounds of 3

By Geno Thackara

“We never solo, we always solo." Like so many great ideas, Joe Zawinul's iconic line about his group Weather Report is both brilliantly simple and allows for endless possibilities. No single player gets featured in the spotlight while the others provide a steady pattern behind them; rather everyone constantly improvises around the framework of a given piece and all contributions are equally important to the whole. Known as “The Norwegian bass Viking" (for good reason as this album shows), Per ...

ALBUM REVIEW August 17, 2016

Per Mathisen/Frode Alnæs/Giraldo Piloto: Sounds Of 3

By Mark Sullivan

Norwegian bassist Per Mathisen (aka “The Bass Viking") leads an exciting, empathetic, virtuosic fusion jazz trio on Sounds Of 3. This is a modern electric trio in the same vein as bassist Jonas Hellborg's trio with guitarist Shawn Lane and drummer Jeff Sipe, guitarist Alex Machacek's trio with 5-string electric bassist Matthew Garrison (and Sipe again), or the current Jeff Sipe Trio with Mike Seal & Taylor Lee. Mathisen composed all of the music, with the exception of an arrangement ...