WAKO - Urolige Sinn
Ora Fonogram: OF135
Kjetil Andre Mulelid: piano; Barour Reinart Poulsen: double bass; Martin Myhre Olsen: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone; Simon Olderskog Albertsen: drums, percussion.
Recorded on the 2nd and 3rd October 2017 by Dag Erik Johansen at Athletic Sound, Norway.
I very much enjoyed Mulelid’s trio recording from a couple of years back and was looking forward to reacquainting myself with his playing and composing. So, it was a pleasant surprise to hear how well this quartet work together, with each musician contributing equally to the development of each piece (and Mulelid and Olsen sharing composing duties). ‘Skavlet fore’ (track 2) neatly encapsulates the approach to music-making of Wako – a simple but effective rubato introduction on piano and bass, with shuffling drums, opens the piece and the saxophone weaves an increasingly excited path through this, being brought back to task by strident piano arpeggios towards the end (which reappear in a later track). From these building blocks, the quartet creates a sound that is contemporary but with such a strong sense of tradition that merges European free-jazz with avant-garde and minimalist composed music. On other several short (sub 2 minute) tracks, the focus is less on the development of a musical theme and more of creating collective sound mixes, like on ‘Skogens uklare omriss’ (track 10) or ‘Svovelpredikant’ (track 11) – although, even on these, there is a tendency to produce a coda that works its way towards a musical theme (like on burst of bop inspired sax and piano that closes track 7 ‘ Revelje’). The quartet also use these short formats to completely resolve the idea for a tune, such as ‘Snart blir jag far’ (track 8). I was reminded of the ways in which French composers from the Twentieth Century, like Milhaud, might write short pieces that completely express a musical idea, and you get that with Wako. What is so compelling about the playing is the way that these brief musical ideas arise and develop collectively.
The press release notes that the recording was made live and the mix certainly captures the exuberance and spontaneity of the quartet. I liked the suggestion, in the press release, that ‘Wako operate as a unified musical consciousness, thinking, dreaming, reacting and planning together’. But, in addition to some compelling collective improvisation, this is a group that has two composers capable of creating deeply philosophical compositions that seem to crystallise essential human emotions. This is the band’s third album and I very much hope that their musical journey continues.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Ora Fonogram: OF135
Kjetil Andre Mulelid: piano; Barour Reinart Poulsen: double bass; Martin Myhre Olsen: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone; Simon Olderskog Albertsen: drums, percussion.
Recorded on the 2nd and 3rd October 2017 by Dag Erik Johansen at Athletic Sound, Norway.
I very much enjoyed Mulelid’s trio recording from a couple of years back and was looking forward to reacquainting myself with his playing and composing. So, it was a pleasant surprise to hear how well this quartet work together, with each musician contributing equally to the development of each piece (and Mulelid and Olsen sharing composing duties). ‘Skavlet fore’ (track 2) neatly encapsulates the approach to music-making of Wako – a simple but effective rubato introduction on piano and bass, with shuffling drums, opens the piece and the saxophone weaves an increasingly excited path through this, being brought back to task by strident piano arpeggios towards the end (which reappear in a later track). From these building blocks, the quartet creates a sound that is contemporary but with such a strong sense of tradition that merges European free-jazz with avant-garde and minimalist composed music. On other several short (sub 2 minute) tracks, the focus is less on the development of a musical theme and more of creating collective sound mixes, like on ‘Skogens uklare omriss’ (track 10) or ‘Svovelpredikant’ (track 11) – although, even on these, there is a tendency to produce a coda that works its way towards a musical theme (like on burst of bop inspired sax and piano that closes track 7 ‘ Revelje’). The quartet also use these short formats to completely resolve the idea for a tune, such as ‘Snart blir jag far’ (track 8). I was reminded of the ways in which French composers from the Twentieth Century, like Milhaud, might write short pieces that completely express a musical idea, and you get that with Wako. What is so compelling about the playing is the way that these brief musical ideas arise and develop collectively.
The press release notes that the recording was made live and the mix certainly captures the exuberance and spontaneity of the quartet. I liked the suggestion, in the press release, that ‘Wako operate as a unified musical consciousness, thinking, dreaming, reacting and planning together’. But, in addition to some compelling collective improvisation, this is a group that has two composers capable of creating deeply philosophical compositions that seem to crystallise essential human emotions. This is the band’s third album and I very much hope that their musical journey continues.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
