After a space of a few years, piano, bass and drums trio Rymden return for more adventures, but this time invite along the Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra (Kringkastingsorkestret or KORK) to re-interpret ten of the pieces released on their previous two albums.
The album opens with that sense of a grand body flexing and considering; a diffident slo-mo swing, the orchestra carefully enshrouding the trio, delivering dramatic flourishes to opener “Reflections And Odysseys”, punctuating the vaporous ideas and then leaning on them, urging them onward before returning to a familiar motif, but always pushing onward.
The piano veers from tenderness to exultation, often in the same piece, but takes a back seat to the lovely robust searching bassline of “The Space Sailor”. There is more of a grounded momentum here, electronic extrapolations and lighter orchestral textures lending an almost frivolous air. The joy is palpable, with the orchestra really adding to the feeling of fun, even when the piece breaks back down to re-focus on the trio and a funky drum workout and soul-jazz electric piano. The amount of styles and ideas attempted in just the opening two tracks us unprecedented and continues throughout. An early morning solitary piano étude cleanses the palate and things then slow right down, with sparse piano and gently rolling rhythm. The sleek, dreamy orchestral backing is a minimalist bout of melancholy, drawing breath, swelling and evolving, while the cartoonish dash of “Pitter Patter” is full of unexpected twists and turns and leaps of faith, the shrill trill of strings and a wonderfully concise bass solo tracking the onomatopoeic percussion. Magnus Öström has an opportunity to go percussion crazy on the distorted “RAK The Abyss”, while the doomy drama that follows, with its stormy piano and shadowy arrangement peering through the gloom, suddenly breaks down in to a funky electric piano piece. It is all very unexpected.You see them as a luminous jazz trio drawing in horns and flutes full of generous solo opportunities; but it then veers into a dub-like rhythm that explodes any preconceptions and then Bugge Wesseltoft takes us on a melancholic piano soliloquy. He speaks eloquently to those with a broken heart, leading an extremely subtle string backdrop and a flash of percussion, with strident voices appearing and adding to the yearning, their strength allowing the piece to swell and then fade. The final piece, Öström’s “Free As A Bird”, had me thinking of ’80s detective dramas; the percussive piano dash, a simple charm with implicit drama that sees the album out on a real joyful high.
The orchestra is such a great addition, never over-stretching or trying too hard, their adventurous nature seems to understand exactly what each piece needs and if it requires barely a breath then that is what they give. I would quite happily listen to this treatment of Rymden’s entire catalogue; but for the time being, this is a great addition.-Mr Olivetti-
