Tomo Jacobson: When the sleeping fish turn red and the skies start to sing in C major I will follow you to the end

Copenhagen-based bassist Tomo Jacobson—employing his musical vehicle, Moonbow—creates a musical ruckus with When the sleeping fish turn red and the skies start to sing in C-major I will follow you to the end (how's that for a CD title?). And it sounds like a ruckus in the blacksmith shop—metallic, slashing guitar, raucous, ragged-edged, tin/brass saxophones over a pumping-bellows bass and hammering drums. All this, and the sounds still has a feeling of structure—albeit a loose one—that allows the individual instrumentalists the freedom to fly. To fly some wild, erratic, envigorated journeys.

For all the squall, there are also minutes of minimalism—pianist Lucas Leidinger'' cold-drops-from-the-melting-icicles piano solo that opens "Start To Sing," a delicate, spacious plinking that leads into a raw-edged, mulitple saxophone rumination, before the group drives into a churning groove. And then the saxophones start to wail, only to taper down and and talk in low, gravelly tones with the piano.

"In C Major" opens up with some warped unison saxophone inside a rumble-and-tumble rhythm. Then, again, the saxophones cut loose, blowing an anthem of discordant spirits.

Jacobson's compositions are strong, straight through, and the ensemble is a wonderful, untamed beast. It sound sort of like one of Charles Mingus' small ensembles, if the iconic bassist/composer had embraced—along with jazz—the sounds of heavy metal rock. And it brings up the question: why didn't those heavy metal rock guys embrace the saxophone?

A distinctive and appealing sound.

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