JOHNSEN / SAHLANDER / MOEN - 1+1=3
Losen: LOS 232-2
Geir Age Johnsen: drums; Fredrik Sahlander: bass; Bernt Moen: piano.
Recorded February 2019 by the trio at Studio A, Kristiansand, Norway.
Bernt Moen is a pianist who is going to become an integral fixture in Losen’s release over the coming year or so and, I suspect, a key part of jazz in Norway. I really hope that the rest of world picks up on his talents and that he becomes part of the international jazz scene. On this set, he gives a confident performance on some familiar jazz classics, with his foot heavily on the piano’s pedals. Perhaps hos emphasis on a full-throated piano sound should not be too surprising, given his early steps in music in metal bands (and his playing on the ‘Dualistic’ album earlier this year). This gives his sound a richness and warmth, as well as a sense of attack. On the high tempo tunes, this gives a feel of early 1940s playing (where, perhaps, players were battling with recording equipment that might not be as forgiving as that of today). On the slower numbers, like J.J. Johnson’s ‘Lament’ (track 2) or Bill Evans’ ‘Interplay’ (track 4), this gives a soulfulness to the tunes that shifts the melody from a whispering sadness to a full throated cry of anguish. On track 2, Sahlander’s bass solo picks up on the delicate phrasing of the piano’s lead and builds a beautiful arco solo (something similar happens on their version of Mercer Ellington’s ‘Things ain’t what they used to be’. Through several of the tunes, Moen adopts a phrasing that has a start-stop dynamic that mixes post-bop phrasing with bop melodies. This anticipates their version of Davis’ ‘All blues’ (track 6), which begins with a bass and drum workout that feels like early jazz-funk and provides an excellent disguise for the tune (with the piano following their lead and bouncing through the tune). The set closes with Moen’s original tune ‘When all is said and done’, which is a beautifully languid ballad and demonstrates his ease with the keyboard and ability to juggle many emotions in the lines that he plays – on this also, Sahlander picks up on the story that the tune is telling and creates a solo that shares and elaborates on this.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Losen: LOS 232-2
Geir Age Johnsen: drums; Fredrik Sahlander: bass; Bernt Moen: piano.
Recorded February 2019 by the trio at Studio A, Kristiansand, Norway.
Bernt Moen is a pianist who is going to become an integral fixture in Losen’s release over the coming year or so and, I suspect, a key part of jazz in Norway. I really hope that the rest of world picks up on his talents and that he becomes part of the international jazz scene. On this set, he gives a confident performance on some familiar jazz classics, with his foot heavily on the piano’s pedals. Perhaps hos emphasis on a full-throated piano sound should not be too surprising, given his early steps in music in metal bands (and his playing on the ‘Dualistic’ album earlier this year). This gives his sound a richness and warmth, as well as a sense of attack. On the high tempo tunes, this gives a feel of early 1940s playing (where, perhaps, players were battling with recording equipment that might not be as forgiving as that of today). On the slower numbers, like J.J. Johnson’s ‘Lament’ (track 2) or Bill Evans’ ‘Interplay’ (track 4), this gives a soulfulness to the tunes that shifts the melody from a whispering sadness to a full throated cry of anguish. On track 2, Sahlander’s bass solo picks up on the delicate phrasing of the piano’s lead and builds a beautiful arco solo (something similar happens on their version of Mercer Ellington’s ‘Things ain’t what they used to be’. Through several of the tunes, Moen adopts a phrasing that has a start-stop dynamic that mixes post-bop phrasing with bop melodies. This anticipates their version of Davis’ ‘All blues’ (track 6), which begins with a bass and drum workout that feels like early jazz-funk and provides an excellent disguise for the tune (with the piano following their lead and bouncing through the tune). The set closes with Moen’s original tune ‘When all is said and done’, which is a beautifully languid ballad and demonstrates his ease with the keyboard and ability to juggle many emotions in the lines that he plays – on this also, Sahlander picks up on the story that the tune is telling and creates a solo that shares and elaborates on this.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
