Record Reviews

KENNETH DAHL KNUDSEN ~ ATLAS NOT ON LABEL ~ DENMARK ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2021 Released: 2022 This is the sixth album by Danish Jazz bassist / composer / bandleader Kenneth Dahl KnudsenFind albums by this artist, recorded with an international sextet called AtlasFind albums by this artist, which also includes Ukrainian vocalist Ganna GrynivaFind albums by this artist, Turkish duduk / zurna player Ertan TekinFind albums by this artist, Israeli pianist Eyal LovettFind albums by this artist, Romanian violist Marius UngureanuFind albums by this artist and Syrian oud player Wassim MukdadFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine original compositions, all by the leader, named after nine cities / places around the world, which Knudsen visited and which inspired him, including my birth town Chorzow in Poland (how unexpected is that). The music on this album has a very strong Jazz-World Fusion influence, which the wonderful instrumentation emphasizes, in addition to the heartfelt and sublimely musical compositions by the leader. The album is a wonderful carpet ride over Middle East, Easter Europe, North African Deserts and frozen Northern European planes. It works splendidly as a soundtrack to an imaginary documentary movie, where the listener can bring from his memory scenes he experienced while travelling or watching filmed travel tales. For people familiar with the music off all these regions, like yours truly, the music has an even deeper impact, as well as admiration for the composer, who so carefully, delicately and elegantly incorporated to Folkloristic themes into his compositions. The performances by all the participants are excellent from start to finish and the music flows gently, but penetrates deeply into the listener’s soul. Although somewhat distanced form Knudsen’s familiar Jazz environment, there is plenty of improvisation herein, and his ability to amalgamate all those different climates and musical traditions into a coherent whole is truly remarkable. Overall, this is a brilliant Jazz-World Fusion album, cleverly and masterfully put together by one of the most talented young European Jazz musicians, who truly embraced the internationality of music not only by travelling all around the world but also by deeply respecting the rich Human musical heritage, which is timeless and boundless. This album really deserves to be heard by every true music lover around the globe. Well done my Friend!

Updated: 16/07/2022Posted: 16/07/2022

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