CD ECM Records Trygve Seim: The Source And Diferent Cikadas

2002

Trygve Seim - saxofoane
Oyvind Braekke - trombon
Per Oddvar Johansen - tobe
Finn Guttormsen - contrabas
Frode Haltli - acordeon
Arve Henriksen - trompeta
Christian Wallumrod - pian
Odd Hannisdal - vioara
Henrik Hannisdal - vioara
Marek Konstantynowicz - viola
Morten Hannisdal - violoncel

As you may have guessed ..., this isn’t exactly dinner jazz, but neither is it a dry, difficult academic exercise. The writing is vibrant, witty and often beautiful. Throughout the cast of players shifts, giving each piece a distinctive character. ... But these guys can make it up as they go along just as well as they can write it down; the two free improvisations are stuffed with ideas yet marked by a restraint and a sense of space rarely found in jazz (except maybe on other ECM records). The closing „Tutti Free“ finds the whole 11 piece slowly expanding and contracting as one with a sensitivity and power that’s almost unfathomable. Beautiful.
Peter Marsh, BBC Online

Startlingly original, haunting, unclassifiable music from three of ECM’s most resourceful and innovative composer/instrumentalists. The late Edward Vesala is a clear influence, but the album’s arresting mix of freedom and structure is simply unique and deserves to be widely heard.
Chris Parker, BBC Music Magazine

Well, the cikadas are certainly here, in a movement from a Lutoslawski string quartet which buzzes and clatters like a whole night sky in Africa. The strings elsewhere are merged in with the leader’s saxophone, trombone and drums, and then there is the accordion which adds yet another dimension. The wide-ranging instrumentation is reflected in the writing which comes from all three men and jumps from the abstract Scandinavian jazz/classical of the opener to the gentle world funk of the second track. And it goes on to take in American avant garde jazz, circus band humour, and cut and paste influences, with the mood changing back and forth between sections, always with the accent on creating an intriguing landscape of sounds. There is a remarkable absence of solo showing off, with the ensemble sound all important.
Peter Bacon, Birmingham Post

As with Different Rivers, a captivating demonstration of a truly contemporary music with jazz still its unmistakeable driving force
John Fordham, The Guardian