Alex Zethson / John Jutterström – It Could / If I

Astral Spirits / Thanatosis Produktion

As well as running Thanatosis Produktion, Alex Zethson is a well-respected pianist on the scene, playing in a handful of groups and guesting on myriad artists’ albums; in fact he appears on the recently released Vilhelm Bromander Unfolding Orchestra album Jordan Vi Ärvde, adding thoughtful piano to an album teeming with talent.

For this album, he has teamed up with reedist Johan Jutterström for a duo album that takes a laid-back look at some revisions of classics, as well as a few newly minted pieces. The selection of covers takes in Leonard Cohen, Pet Shop Boys and nineteenth century composer Alexander Fesca amongst others. The title of the album refers to the the names of the songs, with them either starting with “It Could” or “If I”.

They open with Fesca’s “Ob Ich Dich Liebe” and in this the sax is a shaded spectre roaming against the scattered piano notes that drift in and out of focus. It is a gauzy, friendly game of cat’n’mouse with an uneven rhythm that never really settles, but showcases how well the two work together. It changes tempo and direction and I don’t know if that is how Fesca wrote it or how the duo reworked it, but their approach to the classics reflects their personalities.

Covering Frank Loesser and Ralph Rainger sends us back to the middle part of last century. Alex and John’s remake of “If I should lose you” is all about their interplay, the judicious use of notes and the surprising bass note crescendo, whereas “If I Were A Bull” has a spare elegance with the piano gambolling like a spring lamb.

Coming further forward in time, Leonard Cohen’s “If I Didn’t Have Your Love” is still slow, but lighter somehow and gives both sax and piano plenty of opportunity to extemporise around the familiar melody; whereas John Lurie‘s “It Could Have Been Very Beautiful” has a gravely mournful air with the sax telling a tale of disappointment, its harsh tone reflecting an aftermath of something better to forget.

Up to modern times, Pet Shop Boys’ “It Couldn’t Happen Here” is turned into a sparse and mournful late-night number where the sax picks out the melody with tears in its eyes. The pieces written by Johan are slow and spare, highlighting the space between the notes. In the quieter sections, the breath can be heard as the sax and piano complete each other’s sentences, the listener luxuriating in the space. The piano notes ring out and decay in the room, and the sax tone is gentle, wavering like a mist; while in other parts the repeated notes and minor chord inflections are a bed upon which the sax lounges.

It Could / If I is a warm-hearted and eclectic selection of cosy pieces that draw the listener in with their subtle charms and relaxed feel. Thanatosis is a name you can trust and this is the other end of the spectrum to the recent Vilhelm Bromander album, but has a gentle charm that is hard to resist and shows another yet another side to Alex Zephson.

-Mr Olivetti-