CD ECM Records Bobo Stenson Trio: War Orphans

Bobo Stenson - pian
Anders Jormin - contrabas
Jon Christensen - tobe

<<< editie Touchstones - format mini-vinil replica, coperti gatefold, cartonate  >>>





Characteristically broad in its stylistic range, this 1997 recording begins with a tune by Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez and ends with Duke Ellington’s “Melancholia”. In between are original contributions by Anders Jormin and Bobo Stenson and two pieces by Ornette Coleman, including the deeply-felt title track. “There is great freedom in Ornette’s melodies,” says Swedish pianist Stenson, a masterful player who subtly explores the emotional atmosphere of every tune. “In all tempos, in all keys, in all musical situations, his notes hang in the air like existential moments of coming into being.” -Jazz Times

* * *

War Orphans, named after a tune by Ornette Coleman, is an intense and intelligent trio session. It‘s an amazing unit - driven largely by a continuous dialogue between the three instruments - and one that occasionally seems to think with one mind. Stenson himself plays with some of Jarrett‘s arhythmic introspection, but avoids the dramatic emotionalism associated with the Jarrett school. It should be a real treat to hear a band like this in a simpatico clubsetting.
Linton Chiswick, Time Out

It‘s been a very long time since the Bill Evans Trio with Scott La Faro showed the way in equal-input conversational improvising between a pianist, a bassist and a drummer. Swede Bobo Stenson is one of the foremost European exponents of the same art. If you like this kind of melodically rich unplugged music of unexpected twists and turns, then War Orphans is a wonderful example. Stenson has a steely ruminativeness, bassist Anders Jormin follows and anticipates him like an alter ego, and drummer Jon Christensen is his usual caressingly propulsive self.
John Fordham, The Guardian