Trumpeter/electronicist
Arve Henriksen
, saxophonist
Trygve Seim
, bassist
Anders Jormin
, and drummer
Markku Ounaskari
have worked together in various groupings since the late '90s. Most notably, they worked collectively on three of vocalist/kantele player
Sinikka Langeland
's albums -- 2006's
Starflowers
, 2011's
The Land That Is Not
, and 2016's
The Magical Forest
(the latter also with
Trio Mediaeval
) -- convincing them of their collective creative potential.
Arcanum
is the quartet's debut. These 16 cuts offer a seamless weave of avant-jazz and folk music that at times recalls early outings by
Jan Garbarek
and
Bobo Stenson
. That said, the ghosts haunting this outing include the
Ornette Coleman Quartet
with
Don Cherry
.
Seim
's "Nokitpyrt" is a case in point. While it's noted as a "tribute to Scandinavian elders," its backward spelling is eerily similar to
Triptykon
, the 1972 album by
Garbarek
. Under three-minutes long, its influence suggests the interplay of the
Coleman
band in its rendering of folk-esque lyric melody, ambient space, and improvisation. "Armen Lapset" is a traditional Finnish folk song. Its theme is introduced by
Jormin
playing the melody solo then improvising on it. He is joined by trumpet and soprano sax as
Ounaskari
offers painterly accompaniment on tom-toms. The four-minute "Folkesong" is collectively credited and is arguably composed in real time rather than improvised as set harmony and melody dictate rhythm until its midsection when
's soprano takes a solo. His "Trofast" offers a
-tinged performance of what sounds like a Scandinavian folk song. "Lost in Vanløse" is introduced by the rhythm section engaging in canny, unhurried interplay framed by natural echo and
Henriksen
's subtle electronics for two-and-a-half minutes. When
enters, he reflects
's resonant improvising back to him while beginning to treat his tenor like a human voice. It's breathtaking. "Old Dreams" is a group improv inspired by
Cherry
's
Old and New Dreams
band (comprised entirely of
alumni).
's "Koto" addresses the bassist's decades-long fascination with Japanese music (including his two albums with koto master
Karin Nakagawa
). The hushed interplay between
's cymbals, bass, whispered trumpet, and soprano sax offers an elegiac melody punctuated by pregnant pauses. Led by the rhythm section, "Pharao" is an improv that balances modal blues and skeletal post-bop swing.
's "Elegy" was composed on the day Ukraine was invaded. The woven sax and trumpet entwine in a bittersweet lyric as bassist and drummer maintain a processional pace. It's followed by a short, deeply moving
arrangement of
's "What Reason Could I Give." Three improvisations close the set. The two-minute "La Fontaine" offers a series of linked, unanswered harmonic questions. "Shadow Trail" offers droning soprano, trumpet, tenor, and arco bass underscored by bell-like cymbals and brushed snares. Closer "Fata Morgano" offers Eastern-tinged modalities in sparse, darkly tinged phrases and utterances from all four members with moaning tenor from
's unintrusive yet illustrative electronics.
is worth sitting down to listen to. Its restraint and harmonic and rhythmic invention blended with textured space offer mystery, jazz sophistication, and mastery. ~ Thom Jurek