Svein Rikard Mathisen (gtr/comp); William Larrson (pno); Paul Hinz (bs); Andreas Fryland (dms) + Aske Drasbæk (alt on 3 tracks); Maylen Rusti (voice on 2 tracks).
(Review by Lance).
By Scandinavian standards this is practically mainstream! By more worldly views it's contemporary without losing the plot. Mathisen is an inventive guitarist and a creative composer, finding interesting harmonies and unusual voicings that excite rather than jar. The compositions represent five years of his life in Copenhagen. A life well spent judging by the results as they appear on this album.
The titles demand us to know more!
Prelude; Who Broke the Bat?; Pheasant Cookin'; Hedmark; Vanity; A Moon on a Sunny Day; New Beginnings; I Guess Seeing One More Episode Won't Hurt Anyone.
The music is as good as the titles without revealing the meanings. The guitar playing is top draw and pianist Larrson is up on that same platteau - what am I saying? Hinz and Fryland are up there too plus alto sax on 3 tracks and Rusti's voice, so well integrated to be almost imperceptible, on 2 add to the flavour. Indeed, Mathisen's comment that, finding the right musicians has been decisive for letting the music and the compositions be played as seamlessly fluent as they are.
I'll go along with that.
It's complex rhythmically and the harmonies aren't your average chordal juxtapositions but that enhances rather than detracts - they are harmonies and maybe this really is the guy who found the lost chord, and a few more!
Svein Rikard Mathisen - Copenhagen Diaries is available on the Curling Legs label.
Lance
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