Record Reviews

MOONBOW ~ WHEN THE SLEEPING FISH TURN RED AND THE SKIES START TO SING IN C MAJOR I WILL FOLLOW YOU TO THE END ILK 264 (Barcode: 5706274007374) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2016 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by a European septet MoonbowFind albums by this artist consisting of musicians based in Copenhagen. It includes Polish saxophonist Maciej KadzielaFind albums by this artist and bassist Tomo JacobsonFind albums by this artist, Norwegian saxophonist Danielle DahlFind albums by this artist, Danish saxophonist Mads EgetoftFind albums by this artist and drummer Kresten OsgoodFind albums by this artist, German pianist Lucas LeidingerFind albums by this artist and Swedish guitarist Anton JanssonFind albums by this artist. The album presents six original compositions, all by Jacobson. The album´s artwork also presents a poem written by the legendary American Improvised Music giant William Parker, who wrote it in response to the music. The music, mostly freely improvised, displays the infinite possibilities of a large ensemble, which allows encounters which range from solo performances to the entire septet involved in group improvisation. It is very engaging and fascinating, bold and free-spirited, but at the same time completely coherent. The melodic themes are briefly stated and later disappear into the subconscious plane beneath the improvisations. In spite of the incredible power of a large ensemble, the music is completely devoid of conflict and wonderfully illustrates the concept of collective improvisation, based on mutual respect and almost telepathic communication between the players. There are many superb individual statements by the musicians involved, but the collective result is definitely more that just a sum of its ingredients. Although the album is relatively short (under forty minutes), it is full of emotion and tonal beauty, which should be highly appreciated by fans of Improvised Music. Hopefully this ensemble will make another album, as they surely have much more to say musically. Well done!

Updated: 02/06/2017Posted: 02/06/2017

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