Henrik Olsson’s

Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy is a classic 1971 album by The Who. The same adjectives could be applied to this animated session by a Scandinavian septet led by Swedish guitarist Henrik Olsson. by Olsson’s eight compositions are big and meaty, while performances by the Copenhagen-based musicians mix strong cadences, vigorous liveliness and committed improvisations that are beaty and bouncy.

Olsson, who besides his own bands has recorded with Jeppe Zeeberg and Håkon Berre among others has lined up contributions from brass players Erik Kimestad Pedersen, Petter Hängsel and  Kristian Tangvik, alto saxophonist Michaela Turcerová, electric bassist Jeppe Skovbakke and drummer Rune Lohse. It’s the foundation of Tangvik’s huffing and burbling tuba blasts that mostly give the Antumbra Ensemble its distinctive sound. Plus there’s the pumps and smacks from the rhythm section constantly burbling alongside the tracks’ ebullient interludes from the horns and Olsson’s twangy string set and synthesizer squeaks that proclaim band originality.

“Will Sommers” is a notable instance of this. Set up by Hendrixian guitar flanges and kicked into high gear with elevated horn vamps, it ascends to a theme that condenses the distance between a freylekh and a Christmas round and features an unexpected sudden stop finale. “The Final Night_ Sugoi Yoru!” with its layered timbres moves from simple guitar strums to a face off between trumpeter Pedersen’s heraldic grace notes and trombonist Hängsel’ emotional gutbucket tones to smooth down to a magisterial whole band ending.

Most prominently the extended “Hey Pedro, It’s Just Cosmic Dust” pops with a vague Latin tinge and adds a faint conga line swing in the narrative. Prominent are forceful drum ruffs, electric bass pulsations, tuba snorts, double-tongued saxophone flutters, guitar string stabs and stretched brass triplets. Theme recapitulation involves shaking grace notes from all.

While track titles may seem enigmatic or obscure, they don’t mask the affecting meaty, beaty, big and bouncy achievement of Olsson and company.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. The Maneki-Neko Defect 2. Homeshredder 3. El Excavador De Mi Corazon 4.  Hey Pedro, It’s Just Cosmic Dust 5. Will Sommers 6. A Lesser-Known Tragedy (Part I & II) 7. The Final Night_ Sugoi Yoru! 8. With Freedom, Flowers, Books and the Moon … øh

Personnel: Erik Kimestad Pedersen (trumpet); Petter Hängsel (trombone, recorder); Kristian Tangvik (tuba); Michaela Turcerová (alto saxophone); Henrik Olsson (guitar, synthesizer); Jeppe Skovbakke (electric bass); Rune Lohse (drums)