MATHILDE GROOSS VIDDAL FRIENSEMBLET – Out Of Silence
Giraffa records: GIR 1706
Mathilde Grooss Viddal: soprano and tenor saxophone, bass and contrabass clarinet; Dag Stiberg: alto saxophone; Per Willy Aaserud: trumpet, electronics; Eivind Lonning: trumpet; Oyvind Braekke: trombone; Britt Pernille Froholm: hardinger fiddle, violin; Tellef Kvifte: electronics, laptop, rhodes piano, grand piano; Safaa Al Saadi: darbouka; Satta Al Saadi: darbouka, riq; Knut Kvitfte Nesheim: vibraphone, drums; Siv Oyunn Kjenstad: drums; Ellen Brekken: double bass; Naissam Jala: flute, voice.
Recorded at National Jazzscene, 2015, and Kampenjzz, 2016.
This collective is described by Viddal as a ‘free spirited jazz ensemble’ which plays ‘world music in contemporary jazz’. This CD contains three live performances in which the Freinsemblet are joined by French-Syrian flautist, Jalal. The first four tracks comprise the ‘out of silence’ suite, the second four tracks are a shorter piece called Animal Farm, and the closing three tracks are all composed by Jalal (who also contributed track 2 in the ‘out of silence’ suite).
The first track in the ‘out of silence’ suite begins in a delicate balance, partway between musicians tuning-up and a stately progression of chords that build, through muted brass, towards a series of fanfares that then fade away. This is followed by a track called ‘Parfois c’est plus fort que toi’, which could be translated as ‘sometimes it is too strong for me’ (or perhaps better as ‘sometimes it gets too much for me’) and begins with a sprightly walking bass and skittering collective chorus before solos from trombone, alto sax, bass and flute. There is a nice cohesion in the playing here and a well balanced ‘big band’ sound as they work through the piece. The ‘free’ aspects of the ensemble’s playing tend to be through their individual improvisation, which work around the harmonic structures of the composition. Jalal’s breathy flute-playing here and on track four, and in the last three tracks, has a looseness that calls to mind a blend of Middle Eastern music and jazz-fusion. A short piano solo, joined by vibes after a few bars, introduces the short ‘Silence’ (track 3) and then the voice of Noble peace prize recipient Malala Yousafzai saying ‘They thought the bullets would silence us / But they failed. And out that silence came thousands of voices’ is used in the closing part of the suite. Jalal’s beautiful flute solo soars over a gently rumbling percussion like a dove of peace. The extracts from Malala’s speech echo back into the earlier parts of the suite and resonate as a meditation on the possibility of peace in an antagonistic world. The theme of antagonism is nicely captured in the three movements of ‘Animal Farm’, each lasting only a few minutes and the whole developing Orwell’s satire in a crystal-clear musical analogy - with instruments mimicking different animals as the piece develops.
The final three pieces, composed by Jalal, convey the trauma of the ongoing conflict in Syria. The titles of the pieces (Frontieres, Tribute to the Syrian Revolution, Nomades) tell the history of the conflict in short-hand form. Frontieres has Jalal speaking a poem, in French, over a steady drone played on strings. The translation, in the sleeve notes, begin ‘With a well of tears in my heart / I choke back the weeping of my eyes, in silence.’ This is followed by Jalal playing a sparsely accompanied flute solo that is mesmerising in the way that it conveys anguish, pain and sadness. The theme of the flute solo recurs as the basis of the closing track, in which the ensemble works a lilting Arabic rhythm behind Jalal’s soloing, and there is a feeling, perhaps, of redemption and hope as the piece closes.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Giraffa records: GIR 1706
Mathilde Grooss Viddal: soprano and tenor saxophone, bass and contrabass clarinet; Dag Stiberg: alto saxophone; Per Willy Aaserud: trumpet, electronics; Eivind Lonning: trumpet; Oyvind Braekke: trombone; Britt Pernille Froholm: hardinger fiddle, violin; Tellef Kvifte: electronics, laptop, rhodes piano, grand piano; Safaa Al Saadi: darbouka; Satta Al Saadi: darbouka, riq; Knut Kvitfte Nesheim: vibraphone, drums; Siv Oyunn Kjenstad: drums; Ellen Brekken: double bass; Naissam Jala: flute, voice.
Recorded at National Jazzscene, 2015, and Kampenjzz, 2016.
This collective is described by Viddal as a ‘free spirited jazz ensemble’ which plays ‘world music in contemporary jazz’. This CD contains three live performances in which the Freinsemblet are joined by French-Syrian flautist, Jalal. The first four tracks comprise the ‘out of silence’ suite, the second four tracks are a shorter piece called Animal Farm, and the closing three tracks are all composed by Jalal (who also contributed track 2 in the ‘out of silence’ suite).
The first track in the ‘out of silence’ suite begins in a delicate balance, partway between musicians tuning-up and a stately progression of chords that build, through muted brass, towards a series of fanfares that then fade away. This is followed by a track called ‘Parfois c’est plus fort que toi’, which could be translated as ‘sometimes it is too strong for me’ (or perhaps better as ‘sometimes it gets too much for me’) and begins with a sprightly walking bass and skittering collective chorus before solos from trombone, alto sax, bass and flute. There is a nice cohesion in the playing here and a well balanced ‘big band’ sound as they work through the piece. The ‘free’ aspects of the ensemble’s playing tend to be through their individual improvisation, which work around the harmonic structures of the composition. Jalal’s breathy flute-playing here and on track four, and in the last three tracks, has a looseness that calls to mind a blend of Middle Eastern music and jazz-fusion. A short piano solo, joined by vibes after a few bars, introduces the short ‘Silence’ (track 3) and then the voice of Noble peace prize recipient Malala Yousafzai saying ‘They thought the bullets would silence us / But they failed. And out that silence came thousands of voices’ is used in the closing part of the suite. Jalal’s beautiful flute solo soars over a gently rumbling percussion like a dove of peace. The extracts from Malala’s speech echo back into the earlier parts of the suite and resonate as a meditation on the possibility of peace in an antagonistic world. The theme of antagonism is nicely captured in the three movements of ‘Animal Farm’, each lasting only a few minutes and the whole developing Orwell’s satire in a crystal-clear musical analogy - with instruments mimicking different animals as the piece develops.
The final three pieces, composed by Jalal, convey the trauma of the ongoing conflict in Syria. The titles of the pieces (Frontieres, Tribute to the Syrian Revolution, Nomades) tell the history of the conflict in short-hand form. Frontieres has Jalal speaking a poem, in French, over a steady drone played on strings. The translation, in the sleeve notes, begin ‘With a well of tears in my heart / I choke back the weeping of my eyes, in silence.’ This is followed by Jalal playing a sparsely accompanied flute solo that is mesmerising in the way that it conveys anguish, pain and sadness. The theme of the flute solo recurs as the basis of the closing track, in which the ensemble works a lilting Arabic rhythm behind Jalal’s soloing, and there is a feeling, perhaps, of redemption and hope as the piece closes.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
