Offshore Quintet: Stampede

Melody presages adventure on Stampede. Once the former has made its presence felt, the players take off, exploding an array of ideas that rivet attention. They can fly into the stratosphere of free jazz or lay out a torrid bop turn. And for good measure, there are also elements of rock, flowing like molten lava from the guitar of Torben Waldorff. Their sensibilities also make for a smooth transition from one form to another within the same tune.

Tollbom wrote all the tunes save for "Inner Urge, a Joe Henderson composition. They do the latter justice, but the original compositions provide the framework. They scoot into bop with "Dedication, where the buildup comes in on the horns and the drums. Trumpeter Mårten Lundgren gets into gear first. He plays fast, essaying a slew of ideas, but his control of the idiom is never in doubt. And if the tune makes an impression, credit Tollbom, who shows that he can craft time and meter with flair, and bassist Mattias Hjort, who helps keep the rhythm crackling.

Tollbom and Waldorff share an intuitive rapport on "Transylvania, an engaging conversation stirred by bop idioms with a fiery, intense turn from Mattias Carlsson on tenor saxophone, who keeps interest at peak with some free blowing. Speaking of free, they turn that route over and about on "Etch-A-Sketch. And what a tune it is! Tollbom's drumming has a driving impetus but also structure. Waldorff takes the piece into a spin with distortion, feedback and heavy licks; Lundgren and Carlsson add trenchant bop to make it a volatile ride. All of these things make listening to the Offshore Quintet a distinct pleasure.

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