This one's a beauty and a true favorite of mine. Listen to Paal lift his kit off the damn floor. Outstanding playing all the way around by this wonderful trio.
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AMG review by Alain Drouot:
The title of this session will end up being the moniker of this Scandinavian trio comprised of reed player Mats Gustafsson, bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love. This opus is dedicated to cornetist Don Cherry and includes four expansive explorations of his themes. The frequent high-energy level can be overwhelming, but the sheer power of the music is hard to resist. The sound is dominated by the effusive Gustafsson, who performs with his usual confidence and pungency, but who also shows plenty of lyricism, which adds another dimension to his playing. The trio does an excellent job re-creating the joyfulness of the originals without sounding like copycats -- in fact, their approach is more reminiscent of Albert Ayler. In typical fashion, the heads are mainly a springboard for improvisation. Gustafsson's furious and dense delivery receives great backing from Håker Flaten, who moves effortlessly from pizzicato to arco, and Nilssen-Love, who has the necessary energy to sustain the saxophonist's sonic onslaught. The Don Cherry compositions are complemented by two short collective improvisations. The first starts with an impressionistic scene before Gustafsson and Håker Flaten stretch long notes over a light drum roll. The second is the weakest link in this recording, a blowout that does not add much to the proceedings and proves to be the only trace of self-indulgence on this otherwise excellent outing.
Tracks
1 Awake Nu (Cherry) 5:06
2 Mooti (Cherry) 11:35
3 Cherryco (Cherry) 8:45
4 Ode to Don (Flaten, Gustafsson 3:37
5 The Art of Steve Roney -- Smilin' (Flaten, Gustafsson) 2:38
6 Trans-Love Airways (Cherry) 19:17
(c)2000-Crazy Wisdom
