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Jacob Young
Sideways
ECM 1997
★★ 1 /2
Norwegian guitarist Jacob Young’s music
is more universal than connected to his
country’s much-touted scene. On the other
hand, it presents many of the characteristics
associated with the ECM esthetics. The prevailing atmospheric and
melancholic mood is a case in point. Featuring his acoustic guitar, Young
draws his inspiration from chamber music, folk and jazz. The guitarist also
displays some solid writing skills—his lovely melodies are hummable.
To support his musical ideas, Young relies on a conventional jazz
instrumentation (guitar, trumpet, tenor sax/bass clarinet, bass and drums).
Young has forged a special relationship with drummer Jon Christensen,
but oddly Christensen seems out of place. His unmistakable cymbal work
often comes through as a distraction, if not a hindrance to satisfying musical
development. Therefore, it is no surprise that Sideways’ highlight is the
drum-less “Hanna’s Lament,” a dirge-like piece carried by the horns and
an oscillating bass. Christensen is clearly more at ease on “St. Ella,” an
open-ended piece that brings about the album’s fieriest moment at the
instigation of tenor saxophonist Vidar Johansen. Trumpeter Mathias Eick
also gets to shine. With some quite impressive lyrical flights, he often prevents
the music from falling into predictable territory. —Alain Drouot
Sideways: Sideways; Time Rebel; Slow Bo-Bo; New South End; Out Of Night; Hanna’s Lament;
St. Ella; Maybe We Can; Wide Asleep; Gazing At Stars. (56:22)
Personnel: Jacob Young, guitars; Mathias Eick, trumpet; Vidar Johansen, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Mats Eilertsen, bass; Jon Christensen, drums.
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Ordering info: ecmrecords.com
NYNDK
Nordic Disruption
JAZZHEADS 1159
★★★
Do politics and U.S. bashing have a place
in jazz If the liner notes to the second
release by the quintet NYNDK are any
indication, the answer is “yes.” “Nordic
Disruption represents [a] disruption in the U.S.-centric, delimited and constrained
way of thinking,” spouts the CD’s uncredited harangue, “a shift in
thought with great expectations; a celebration of cultural difference
through rhapsody.” That “great expectations” in jazz means diminishing
the land from which the art form originated seems a primitive, even belligerent
notion, particularly as NYNDK plays mainstream jazz.
NYNDK performs its material with a forward-thinking edge, yet
clothed in standard forms and soloing. Its trombone/tenor front line of
Chris Washburne (U.S.) and Ole Mathisen (Norway) offers a burnished
tone, and the group’s humor, energy and exuberance pervades every track.
“Histrionics” kicks off with drummer Scott Neumann (U.S.) executing
marching figures, joined by NYNDK’s spiraling melody and winding
solos. “Great Expectations” flies over a funky piano line and broken second-line
rhythms, the song’s agitated yet lilting melody recalling Steps
Ahead’s first album. The title track resumes the mainstream approach, its
Latin/swing rhythm driving a pungent melody. —Ken Micallef
Nordic Disruption: Histrionics; Great Expectations; Backward Glance; Nordic Disruption; Blade
Runner; Derivative; Brooklyn; I Hear A Rhapsody; Elefantens Vuggeviser; Nimbulus. (53:03)
Personnel: Chris Washburne, trombone; Ole Mathisen, saxophones; Soren Moller, piano: Per
Mathisen, bass; Scott Neumann, drums.
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Ordering info: jazzheads.com
September 2008 DOWNBEAT 83