MONGREL - Thick as Thieves
Losen 148-2
Thomas Husmo Litleskare: trumpet; Ayumi Tanaka: piano; Stian Andreas Egelund Andersen: bass; Tore Flatjord: drums.
This is the second outing for this quartet and a very assured set it is. The CD features nine original compositions that mix a contemporary sense of rhythm with a near timeless sense of melody. It is unusual for the themes of contemporary jazz to have such immediate and infectious appeal, and you could find yourself humming them after listening. The opening track begins with a seven note sequence that reminded me of Hoagy Carmichael’s classic ‘I get along without you very well’, played with a mixture of hesitance and defiance that characterises Litleskare’s trumpet tone. There is, in his playing a harshness of tone and a gentleness of phrasing that is most disarming. Dani Castelar’s production adds some echo and shimmer to the trumpet playing that gives it a fragility across the softer sections.
The compositions (some written by Litleskare and some by Andersen) provide a clear melodic framework, with a very strong rhythm section, against which trumpet and piano explore and develop themes with care and precision. Tanaka’s piano interventions are considered and well placed, with a surety of touch that I would like to have heard much more of on this set.
In his liner notes, trumpeter Hayden Powell (whose current CD I have reviewed elsewhere on jazzviews: http://www.jazzviews.net/hayden-powell-ndash-circadian-rhythm-and-blue.html) discusses the name of the band, citing the mix of membership and the mix of genres on display here. The use of the word ‘mongrel’ for the band’s name calls to mind a cross-bred dog implying mixed heritage. With three Norwegians and only one Japanese member, the group is, perhaps, not so mixed but has developed a strong musical identity which makes the CD’s title apposite. In terms of a ‘mixture of genres’, this again is less obvious to my ears – although there are hints of, and nods to, a variety of rhythms from across the world of jazz. Again, the group assimilate these into a sound that comes across as very much their own. Indeed, there is something in this playing that pushes the music beyond its Scandinavian roots into a sound that is international in its ambition and scope. All in all a very good set indeed.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Losen 148-2
Thomas Husmo Litleskare: trumpet; Ayumi Tanaka: piano; Stian Andreas Egelund Andersen: bass; Tore Flatjord: drums.
This is the second outing for this quartet and a very assured set it is. The CD features nine original compositions that mix a contemporary sense of rhythm with a near timeless sense of melody. It is unusual for the themes of contemporary jazz to have such immediate and infectious appeal, and you could find yourself humming them after listening. The opening track begins with a seven note sequence that reminded me of Hoagy Carmichael’s classic ‘I get along without you very well’, played with a mixture of hesitance and defiance that characterises Litleskare’s trumpet tone. There is, in his playing a harshness of tone and a gentleness of phrasing that is most disarming. Dani Castelar’s production adds some echo and shimmer to the trumpet playing that gives it a fragility across the softer sections.
The compositions (some written by Litleskare and some by Andersen) provide a clear melodic framework, with a very strong rhythm section, against which trumpet and piano explore and develop themes with care and precision. Tanaka’s piano interventions are considered and well placed, with a surety of touch that I would like to have heard much more of on this set.
In his liner notes, trumpeter Hayden Powell (whose current CD I have reviewed elsewhere on jazzviews: http://www.jazzviews.net/hayden-powell-ndash-circadian-rhythm-and-blue.html) discusses the name of the band, citing the mix of membership and the mix of genres on display here. The use of the word ‘mongrel’ for the band’s name calls to mind a cross-bred dog implying mixed heritage. With three Norwegians and only one Japanese member, the group is, perhaps, not so mixed but has developed a strong musical identity which makes the CD’s title apposite. In terms of a ‘mixture of genres’, this again is less obvious to my ears – although there are hints of, and nods to, a variety of rhythms from across the world of jazz. Again, the group assimilate these into a sound that comes across as very much their own. Indeed, there is something in this playing that pushes the music beyond its Scandinavian roots into a sound that is international in its ambition and scope. All in all a very good set indeed.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
