OYVINDLAND - Malerier
ORA Fonogram: OF156
Oyvind Froberg Mathisen: trumpet, piccolo trumpet; Cecile Grundt: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone; Erlend Vangden Knogtrop: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone; Joakim Rainer Petersen: piano; Iver Christopher Cardas: guitar; Alexander Riris: acoustic bass; Martin Mellem: drums
Recorded June 16th and 17th 2019 by Oyvind Froberg Mathisen at Ora Studio.
In a vaguely covid influenced misreading, I had originally assumed the title of this album related to malaria. It doesn’t. Rather, ‘malerier’ is Norwegian for paintings, which is a far more fitting title for the collection of pieces that Oyvind Mathisen has composed. Each of the seven composed tunes run at between 7 and 10 minutes, and a impressionistic takes on musicians and musical styles that has inspired him. Still only 26 and fresh out of the Trondheim jazz academy, Oyvind Mathisen and his fellow band members have been touring across Norway. From the familiarity with which they all inhabit the tunes and respond to each other is very telling that they’ve spent a lot of time sharing music with each other. Each player takes their opportunity for solos with verve and flare and while it would be wrong to single individuals, I was struck by the piano and guitar solos in particular. The compositions find their way into a particular musical style, be it inspired by the idea of a place (Cuba, track 5, or Afro, track 7) or a person (Ellington, track 3, or Wayne, track 8), and discover interesting facets by slowly revolving its components. There are fragments in many of the tunes that either directly quote or hint at familiar themes from the jazz canon. But, cleverly, the playing allows these to drift past and, by the time you’ve spotted something, it has morphed into something completely unrelated. As a debut this is a superbly accomplished set of compositions by a young artist, and also an impressive array of new talent that we will be seeing across many releases from Norway and further afield in coming years.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
ORA Fonogram: OF156
Oyvind Froberg Mathisen: trumpet, piccolo trumpet; Cecile Grundt: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone; Erlend Vangden Knogtrop: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone; Joakim Rainer Petersen: piano; Iver Christopher Cardas: guitar; Alexander Riris: acoustic bass; Martin Mellem: drums
Recorded June 16th and 17th 2019 by Oyvind Froberg Mathisen at Ora Studio.
In a vaguely covid influenced misreading, I had originally assumed the title of this album related to malaria. It doesn’t. Rather, ‘malerier’ is Norwegian for paintings, which is a far more fitting title for the collection of pieces that Oyvind Mathisen has composed. Each of the seven composed tunes run at between 7 and 10 minutes, and a impressionistic takes on musicians and musical styles that has inspired him. Still only 26 and fresh out of the Trondheim jazz academy, Oyvind Mathisen and his fellow band members have been touring across Norway. From the familiarity with which they all inhabit the tunes and respond to each other is very telling that they’ve spent a lot of time sharing music with each other. Each player takes their opportunity for solos with verve and flare and while it would be wrong to single individuals, I was struck by the piano and guitar solos in particular. The compositions find their way into a particular musical style, be it inspired by the idea of a place (Cuba, track 5, or Afro, track 7) or a person (Ellington, track 3, or Wayne, track 8), and discover interesting facets by slowly revolving its components. There are fragments in many of the tunes that either directly quote or hint at familiar themes from the jazz canon. But, cleverly, the playing allows these to drift past and, by the time you’ve spotted something, it has morphed into something completely unrelated. As a debut this is a superbly accomplished set of compositions by a young artist, and also an impressive array of new talent that we will be seeing across many releases from Norway and further afield in coming years.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
