BAGLAND / JAKOB SØRENSEN - Cirkel
Jaeger Community Music JCM030
Jakob Sørensen (trumpet); Alex Jønsson (guitar); Mathias Jæger (piano & synthesizer); Frederik Sakham (double bass); Frej Lesner (drums)
Recorded July 2018
This is the third release from Bagland, the Danish quintet led by trumpeter Jakob Sørensen. The new album is very different from its predecessors that were based around the clear , spacious and acoustic sound inspired by his native Scandinavia, and on this outing explore a similarly spacious sound world but utilising electronics to lend a different tonal palette. The result is an album of crystal clear concept, retaining all the attributes of the acoustic setting, while embracing the new textures without allowing them to dominate the music
The compositions have a lean and economical lyricism with no room for excessive or superfluous gestures. Sørensen's trumpet imparts a fragility that suits the music well, and sits comfortably with the sparing use of electronics. As a musician he has drawn much from the Scandinavian master, trumpeters Nils Petter Molvaer and Arve Henriksen, and composer Palle Mikkelborg (faint echoes of Aura with Miles Davis in the use of guitar), but also bringing to the mix an original aesthetic that lends itself to a lighter more optimistic leaning. Gone is the chill of the North to be replaced with a warmer and utterly contemporary sound..
If economy is the name of the game, then this is never better illustrated than on the title track. Driven by a sparse but deeply grooving bass line coupled with subtle use of synthesizer and clever use of guitar and muted trumpet, the overall effect is a gentle yet captivating journey. Sørensen coaxes a widervariety of tonal inflections that add weight to proceedings, and once again the use of electronics is deployed ina way to ensure that it enhance rather than stifles the interplay between the quintet.
'i Kirken' is a delightful paced piece of melancholy that aways, with the sound of the leaders trumpet, retains a hint of light which is quickly picked up on in the following piece ' Drapeau Blanc'. The Nordic calm is once again restored on 'Ageposten' (The Carriage), the longest piece on the album, and shows how Bagland can sustain interest in a continually evolving extended piece of music.
If there is no escaping the origins of the music, this is a band who are committed to finding their own place within a sound so indelibly associated with Scandinavia, and in doing so introduce a new and exciting cutting edge ensemble that are always looking ahead.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Jaeger Community Music JCM030
Jakob Sørensen (trumpet); Alex Jønsson (guitar); Mathias Jæger (piano & synthesizer); Frederik Sakham (double bass); Frej Lesner (drums)
Recorded July 2018
This is the third release from Bagland, the Danish quintet led by trumpeter Jakob Sørensen. The new album is very different from its predecessors that were based around the clear , spacious and acoustic sound inspired by his native Scandinavia, and on this outing explore a similarly spacious sound world but utilising electronics to lend a different tonal palette. The result is an album of crystal clear concept, retaining all the attributes of the acoustic setting, while embracing the new textures without allowing them to dominate the music
The compositions have a lean and economical lyricism with no room for excessive or superfluous gestures. Sørensen's trumpet imparts a fragility that suits the music well, and sits comfortably with the sparing use of electronics. As a musician he has drawn much from the Scandinavian master, trumpeters Nils Petter Molvaer and Arve Henriksen, and composer Palle Mikkelborg (faint echoes of Aura with Miles Davis in the use of guitar), but also bringing to the mix an original aesthetic that lends itself to a lighter more optimistic leaning. Gone is the chill of the North to be replaced with a warmer and utterly contemporary sound..
If economy is the name of the game, then this is never better illustrated than on the title track. Driven by a sparse but deeply grooving bass line coupled with subtle use of synthesizer and clever use of guitar and muted trumpet, the overall effect is a gentle yet captivating journey. Sørensen coaxes a widervariety of tonal inflections that add weight to proceedings, and once again the use of electronics is deployed ina way to ensure that it enhance rather than stifles the interplay between the quintet.
'i Kirken' is a delightful paced piece of melancholy that aways, with the sound of the leaders trumpet, retains a hint of light which is quickly picked up on in the following piece ' Drapeau Blanc'. The Nordic calm is once again restored on 'Ageposten' (The Carriage), the longest piece on the album, and shows how Bagland can sustain interest in a continually evolving extended piece of music.
If there is no escaping the origins of the music, this is a band who are committed to finding their own place within a sound so indelibly associated with Scandinavia, and in doing so introduce a new and exciting cutting edge ensemble that are always looking ahead.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
