Ecm reviews: Green In Blue
Arild Andersen double-bass Jon Balke piano Knut Riisnaes tenor and soprano saxophones, flute Pål Thowsen drums Juhani Aaltonen tenor and soprano saxophones, flutes, percussion Lars Jansson piano, Moog-synthesizer, string ensemble I used to hear jazz through a diurnal lens: it was either night or day. I saw this reflected in many album covers, which could be bright (Milt Jackson’s Sunflower comes to mind) or deeply nocturnal (which pegs a good portion of the Blue Note catalogue). ECM has been unique in charting the in-between, those crepuscular moments of the genre in which transitions...
Read MoreReviews: Live at Belleville
Andersen is a bold soloist with a big tone and an even bigger vision. He indulges in a wide range of expression in this adventurous outing that organically incorporates free jazz, Scandinavian folkoric music, ambient soundscapes, chamber music, frantic freebop, live electronics and even a touch of Ellingtonia. JazzTimes Live at Belleville Arild Andersen — By Bill Milkowski More than forty years ago, Norwegian bassist, Arild Andersen joined saxophonist Jan Garbarek and the late Finnish drummer Edward Vesala to record the groundbreaking Triptykon (ECM 1972), one of these...
Read MoreReviews: Electra (2005)
Once spoken of along with Garbarek, Rypdal and Christensen as one of the “Big Four” of Scandinavian jazz, recent developments in the indigenous jazz of this fertile region have produced many new challengers to Andersen’s crown. … Electra amply fulfils the brief for a modern, fluid, and spacious sound-scape. Vocalists join the mix more as a choral texture than for any lyric purpose, leaving Henriksen’s plaintive trumpet as the de facto lead vocalist. … The longest and boldest piece on the disc, it exemplifies the seamless fusion of ancient and cutting edge materials. Andersen’s...
Read MoreReviews: The Triangle (2004)
Most acoustic jazz pianotrios make the keyboard the central focus.In this one it’s the remarkable double-bass playing of the Norwegian Arild Andersen-a virtuoso who can make a plucked note sound as it might last forever. His musical awareness imparts logic and grace to both his own contributions and the ensemble sound of his group. Triangle is more animated and alert than it’s more ruminative predecessor Achirana. A few of the pieces have unexpectedly direct grooves and catchy hooks, several are romantic,broken-chord drifters echoed by abstract percussion-rustles, but the...
Read MoreReviews: Archirana (2000)
Athenian pianist Vassilis Tsabropoulos is one of those rare musicians who is equally at home in both the classical and jazz worlds. His album Achirana demonstrates that, while noted principally for his prowess as a classical pianist, conductor and composer, he also has much to say in a jazz idiom. Accompanied by Norwegian bassist Arild Andersen and British veteran drummer John Marshall, he has assembled an exquisite record filled with fluid, fluent improvisations, which transport and delight. Sample the fearlessly slow gems «Diamond Cut Diamond» and «Valley» and be...
Read MoreReviews Karta (2000)
Das Trio Markus Stockhausen (Trompete) – Arild Andersen (Bass) – Patrice Héral (Percussion) bietet seit Jahren einen neben seinem grenzüberschreitenden, äußerst lebendigen und humorvollen Stil auch immer wieder neue Überraschungen. So lud es vor zwei Jahren mit Terje Rypdal einen Musiker ein, der den elektrischen Gitarrensound weltweit prägte. Es entstand eine neue Musik, die diese vier virtuosen Künstler auf ihrer ECM-Veröffentlichung KARTA und fortan auch auf zahlreichen Jazzfestivals erfolgreich präsentierten. So urteilte die Frankfurter Rundschau (am 6. November...
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