Bassist and composer Vilhelm Bromander has reconvened the players from 2023’s In This Forever Unfolding Moment and they are now trading as The Unfolding Orchestra, taking the previous ideas and extending them, creating four very different long-form pieces that allow the talented musicians to play against one another and push themselves a little bit further than the last release.
There are a few changes of personnel on Jordan Vi Ärvde, but on the whole it is the same group and that familiarity gives them a greater sense of adventure, covering far more ground than before.
Pianist Alex Zethson starts the album off with a mellow motif that is playful yet lightly disturbed in its repetitive nature. There is a gradual addition of textural detail that comes from the other players, but considering the number of them it never becomes overwhelming. The tone is lulling and with the introduction of the horns, it becomes a sleepy, jazzy meander lifting the mood but remaining warm and humid, vibes lifting the mood further and enhanced by some sweet Chet Baker-style trumpet. The warm atmosphere continues with the languid and spare New Orleans funeral tones of “Erde”. The exquisite percussive textures and a lovely bass solo that interacts with piano notes evokes the start of a new day, a gradual unfurling that finds the piano taking the role of a morning coffee causing the blood to flow and the pulse to race. The horns share an Ennio Morricone swing; a tristesse nod of the head, but with a tempo that rolls into the following “For Dewey”, which is much more effusive; a horn-led dance band throwing wild shapes replete with rude sax blasts that permeate the bass groove.The handover between instruments has the deft precision of a relay change with the joy and sheer thrill of playing the complex arrangements shining through; and with the number of players, the album is filled with different combinations. One of the most pleasing appears on the final track “Calliope” that pairs a spring shower harp with bass that curls with an Eastern tonality and lugubrious warmth. Bass clarinet lends a sharp edginess; it is a little wild, but in need of support which comes courtesy of nectar-like horns.
There is a real sense of humanity that shines through Jordan Vi Ärvde and the long form of the pieces allows them to swell incrementally, stretching and reflecting the dichotomy between the mellower tones and the more anxious elements. As the pressure recedes, so the tension ebbs away; and as the album draws to a close, it really feels as though the listener has been taken on a carefully curated and rather lovely voyage.-Mr Olivetti-
