Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity

A lively and unselfconsciously convivial session, the great intentions reflected here are how Acoustic Unity’s core trio of reedist André Roligheten, bassist Petter Eldh and drummer Gard Nilssen celebrated the band’s 10^th anniversary by inviting three other fellow Norwegian musicians to record this CD’s nine tracks. The drummer who has played with everyone from Bill Frisell to Tomasz Stanko; the bassist who has worked with among others Kaja Draksler and Peter Evans; and Roligheten, who plays tenor, bass, soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, flute and percussion here and has collaborated with Jonas Cambien, Rune Nergaard and others; are joined by guitarist Jonas Alaska, Signe Emmeluth on alto saxophone, flute and percussion and Kjetil Møster on tenor, baritone saxophones and percussion.

The low-pitched reeds are particularly important since many of the tunes balance on the bass and baritone saxes’ snores and snarls continuum that is added to double bass pumps and the drummer’s ability on full kit rolls and pumps as well as Latin- suggesting conga and bongo slaps. Meanwhile other saxophone tones are interlaced in either close harmony or tough unison bites. Never neglecting a horizontal groove the formula is expressed on melodic tracks like “Swedish Delight” which sounds as if Gil Evans arranged a Christmas carol, to those such as “John Wayne” where reed riffs multiply and swell into a dance-like rhythm for a piece driven by thick, near R&B bass thumps and busy hollow pops and ratamacues from the drummer.

At the same time space is left for the higher pitched saxophones’ expressions in the form of honks, elevated split tones, vibrated screams and tongue stops. These texture are integrated into the musical gestalt and expressed in greater or foreshortened lengths, pitches and tempos. “Ostronology” for instance with its ratcheting break repetition, vamping saxophone layering and triplet percussion rattles could be mistaken for a salsa exercise. Meanwhile more improv-affiliated and longer tracks like “Bankebrett” may have vague conga-drum-like echoes plus a slippery double bass continuum, but dual flute peeps and later slurs slides and squeak from one saxophonist and Roligheten’s chalumeau register bass clarinet lowing put dissonance in its proper context.

With other sympathetic timbres from pop songs to Klezmer inferences sometimes alluded to, the Great Intentions suggested  have obviously been realized.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Swedish Delight 2. Telemark Twist 3. Bankebrett 4. Waterfalls 5. Ostronology 6. Vinden Stiger 7. John Wayne  8. Dancing Flowers 9. The Root

Personnel: Signe Emmeluth (alto saxophone, flute, percussion); Kjetil Møster (tenor, baritone saxophones, percussion,); André Roligheten (tenor, bass, soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, percussion); Petter Eldh (bass, percussion); Gard Nilssen (drums, percussion) and Jonas Alaska (vocals, guitar)