CHARLES LLOYD QUARTET - Fish Out of Water (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Fish out of Water was the first in a string of recordings Charles Lloyd made for ECM throughout the '90s and into the next century. As such, this album ended a long reclusive period for Lloyd and re-established him as a major post-Coltrane tenor stylist. Joining him and his new piano partner, Bobo Stenson, are Palle Danielsson on bass and Jon Christensen on drums -- the players who comprised the rhythm section of Keith Jarrett's famed European quartet. There's a serene, haunting quality to much of the music, particularly "Haghia Sophia" and "Tellaro," both of which feature Lloyd on flute (possibly alto flute on the former). The quartet picks up the pace on the swinging "Eyes of Love" and locks into a Coltrane-esque slow burn on "The Dirge." The title track contains some parallel major sevenths that recall "Forest Flower," Lloyd's most famous song. While some may find the disc a bit too placid overall, there's much to be said for Lloyd's unruffled, effortlessly bluesy playing.  David R. Adler
Tracklist :
1    Fish Out Of Water    9:20
2    Haghia Sophia    7:24
3    The Dirge    10:10
4    Bharati    8:23
5    Eyes Of Love    8:32
6    Mirror    9:28
7    Tellaro    4:02
Credits :
Bass – Palle Danielsson
Drums – Jon Christensen
Painting [Cover Painting], Photography By – Dorothy Darr
Piano – Bobo Stenson
Producer – Manfred Eicher
Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Composed By – Charles Lloyd

CHARLES LLOYD - Notes from Big Sur (1992) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

On Notes From Big Sur, Charles Lloyd retains pianist Bobo Stenson but opts for a new rhythm section in bassist Anders Jormin and drummer Ralph Peterson. The program begins with two elegant jazz ballads, "Requiem" and "Sister" (the former would reappear on 1999's Voice in the Night). Lloyd turns toward abstraction on "Takur" and the two-part "Pilgrimage to the Mountain"; the second part, "Surrender," closes the album as a kind of benediction. The middle of the program is pretty meaty: "Sam Song," with its swinging tempo, does much to brighten the mood, as does the waltz "Monk in Paris" and the heavy, slow groove of "When Miss Jessye Sings" -- an homage, one can assume, to the opera singer Jessye Norman. With an unapologetically assertive rhythm team and scintillating solo flights from Lloyd and Stenson, Notes From Big Sur successfully portrays the California coastline for which it is named -- picturesque and soothing, although rugged and at times forbidding. David R. Adler

Tracklist :
1     Requiem 8'00
Charles Lloyd
2     Sister 8'48
Charles Lloyd
3     Pilgrimage to the Mountain, Pt. 1: Persevere 7'23
Charles Lloyd    
4     Sam Song 7'55
Charles Lloyd    
5     Takur 4'29
Charles Lloyd    
6     Monk in Paris 9'35
Charles Lloyd    
7     When Miss Jessye Sings 9'59
Charles Lloyd    
8     Pilgrimage to the Mountain, Pt. 2: Surrender 4'35
Charles Lloyd
Credits :
Bass – Anders Jormin
Drums – Ralph Peterson
Photography By [Cover Photos] – Dorothy Darr
Piano – Bobo Stenson
Producer – Manfred Eicher
Tenor Saxophone – Charles Lloyd

CHARLES LLOYD QUARTET - The Call (1993) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The Call features the same lineup as Notes From Big Sur (pianist Bobo Stenson and bassist Anders Jormin), save for drummer Billy Hart, who replaces Ralph Peterson. (Lloyd has referred to this group as his "Full Service Orchestra of Love.") While the record documents plenty of stirring musicianship, Lloyd the composer seems to be running low on fresh ideas and distinctive melodies. In sum, The Call is a bit too similar in thrust to his two previous ECM outings. (It's also over 16 minutes longer, which doesn't help.) There are a couple of unexpected twists, however -- like Lloyd's surging, surprising entrance toward the end of "Song," and the quick yet perpetually unsettled tempo of the brief "Imke." The closing Lloyd/Hart duet, "Brother on the Rooftop," is partially based on the second movement of Beethoven's Pathétique Sonata, although there's no acknowledgement of this anywhere on the CD package. David R. Adler
Tracklist :
1    Nocturne    5:21
2    Song    12:41
3    Dwija    6:42
4    Glimpse    8:29
5    Imke    3:51
6    Amarma    7:14
7    Figure In Blue, Memories Of Duke    9:23
8    The Blessing    10:44
9    Brother On The Rooftop    11:58
Credits :
Bass – Anders Jormin
Drums – Billy Hart
Photography By [Cover Photos], Design – Dorothy Darr
Piano – Bobo Stenson
Producer – Manfred Eicher
 Composed, Liner Notes, Tenor Saxophone – Charles Lloyd

CHARLES LLOYD - All My Relations (1995) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This CD by the Charles Lloyd Quartet avoids fitting into any of the stereotypes that one might have about ECM's recordings. Pianist Bobo Stenson has carved his own identity out of the styles of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, drummer Billy Hart is stimulating in support and Anders Jormin provides a walking bass on many of the tracks; a rarity for ECM sessions. As one might expect, the main focus is on Charles Lloyd whose playing during the past decade has been some of the finest of his career. He mostly sticks to tenor (just playing flute on "Little Peace" and Chinese oboe on the very brief "Milarepa"), and although traces of John Coltrane's sound will always be in his tone, Lloyd comes up with quite a few original ideas. He is best on "Thelonious Theonlyus" (which has a slight calypso feel to it), the episodic "Cape to Cairo Suite" (a tribute to Nelson Mandela), a long tenor/drums duet on "All My Relations" (which is a mix between "Chasin' the 'Trane" and "Bessie's Blues") and the brooding spiritual "Hymne to the Mother." A strong effort. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Piercing the Veil 8'27
Charles Lloyd    
2     Little Peace 6'35
Charles Lloyd    
3     Thelonious Theonlyus 7'48
Charles Lloyd    
4     Cape to Cairo Suite (Hommage to Mandela) 15'26
Charles Lloyd
5     Evanstide, Where Lotus Bloom 10'56
Charles Lloyd    
6     All My Relations 10'54
Charles Lloyd
7     Hymne to the Mother 8'38
Charles Lloyd
8     Milarepa 1'19
Charles Lloyd
Credits :
Design [Cover Design], Photography By [Photos] – Dorothy Darr
Double Bass – Anders Jormin
Drums – Billy Hart
Piano – Bobo Stenson
Producer – Manfred Eicher
Saxophone, Flute, Suona [Chinese Oboe], Liner Notes – Charles Lloyd

CHARLES LLOYD - Canto (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Reed king Charles Lloyd has consistently exceeded expectations throughout his career, breaking ground in any number of jazz forms, particularly those associated with the employing of the various folk musics of the world as elemental melodic and harmonic components of his signature practice in the idiom. Canto reveals Lloyd's inner restlessness at work once again with longtime pianist Bobo Stenson, bassist Anders Jormin, and the legendary American drummer Billy Hart. The set opens with "Tales of Rumi," which has Stenson playing inside the piano, and Hart sliding around the kit without ever actually hitting it. When Lloyd enters after a lengthy intro, he does so in a post-bop phraseology that brings the tune full circle, transforming from a folk melody to a blues tune. Later, on "Nichiketa's Lament," Lloyd uses a Tibetan oboe with its high, reedy tone to play funeral music that actually becomes an exercise in pan-modalism. The title track is actually a song of sorts, based on Jimmy Giuffre's harmonic methodology and Coltrane's breather and note theory. The set closes with an unbelievably beautiful, cascading ballad where the band falls through its changes like water in a brook, and Lloyd blows through them with a heartbreaking lyrical intensity. Canto is the song of a master who employs all of his tools in the creation of a work of art.
|> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <|
Tracklist :
1     Tales of Rumi 16'41
Charles Lloyd    
2     How Can I Tell You 6'18
Charles Lloyd
3     Desolation Sound 6''05
Charles Lloyd
4     Canto 13'20
Charles Lloyd
5     Nachiketa's Lament 6'18
Charles Lloyd    
6     M 13'13
Charles Lloyd
7     Durga Durga 3'20
Charles Lloyd
Credits :
Double Bass – Anders Jormin
Drums – Billy Hart
Photography By [Cover And Liner Photos] – Dorothy Darr
Piano – Bobo Stenson
Producer – Manfred Eicher
Tenor Saxophone, Oboe [Tibetan Oboe] – Charles Lloyd

BOBO STENSON | ARILD ANDERSEN | JON CHRISTENSEN - Underwear (1971-2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This LP from ECM's early days finds Swedish pianist Bobo Stenson leading bassist Arild Andersen and drummer Jon Christensen in a program of uncompromising, collectively improvised post-bop. Andersen is prominent in the mix and plays just tons, all of it totally relevant to the music. Christensen provides structure, drawing on his breathtaking talent to contribute a dazzling range of color, a deft, flawless pulse, and fresh rhythmic ideas for the pianist and bassist. Stenson stakes out a middle ground, communicating closely with his partners and underpinning the group with subtle cues and harmonic shifts. Stenson's title track, a great post-bop, piano-bass-drum performance, goes for broke, but with discipline and a shared sense of purpose. From delicate beginnings, the pianist's two ballads, "Luberon" and "Tant W.," build steadily in power and intensity. Ornette Coleman's "Untitled" gets a short, manic workout, reminiscent of pianist Keith Jarrett's involvement with Coleman's music. "Test" is a mesmerizing piano vamp, over which Andersen adds arco effects, as Stenson strums and plucks from inside the piano, and Christensen busies himself with miscellaneous percussion toys. The concluding track, "Rudolf," is an Andersen reworking of Miles Davis' "Mademoiselle Mabry." Although structured as a piano trio, this set's main attraction is the opportunity to hear, up close, the enormous talents of Christensen and Andersen. That, in turn, though, says something about the egalitarian spirit of Stenson. Jim Todd  
Tracklist :
1     Underwear 7'38
Bobo Stenson
2     Luberon 9'16
Bobo Stenson
3     Test 3'35
Bobo Stenson
4     Tant W. 8'52
Bobo Stenson
5     Untitled 3'54
Ornette Coleman
6     Rudolf 6'13
Arild Andersen
Credits :
Bobo Stenson   Piano
Arild Andesen   Double Bass
Jon Christensen    Percussion

BOBO STENSON TRIO - Reflections (2006) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Bobo Stenson is best known for his longtime association with Charles Lloyd. On his trio set (which has fine support from bassist Anders Jormin and drummer Jon Christensen), he often sounds a bit like Keith Jarrett, Lloyd's pianist of the 1960s. Stenson shows more energy than one might expect to hear on an ECM date, although he also has several introspective explorations. Highlights include a somber "My Man's Gone Now," an impressionistic version of Duke Ellington's "Reflections In D," the Latin feel of "Minidatyr" and a spirited "The Enlightener." Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     The Enlightener 6'53
Bobo Stenson
2     My Man's Gone Now 6'16
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin / DuBose Heyward
3     Not 4'50
Anders Jormin
4     Dörrmattan 5'47
Bobo Stenson
5     Q 5'52
Anders Jormin
6     Reflections in D 5'26
Duke Ellington
7     12 Tones Old 4'47
Bobo Stenson
8     Mindiatyr 10'26
Bobo Stenson
Credits :
Double Bass – Anders Jormin
Drums – Jon Christensen
Piano – Bobo Stenson
Producer – Manfred Eicher

BOBO STENSON TRIO - Very Early (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This CD reissue of a 1986 recording by the wonderful Bobo Stenson Trio is a special date indeed, especially given how free it is from Manfred Eicher's ECM production. Along with longtime mates Run Carlson on drums and Anders Jormin on bass, Stenson runs through a program of new European jazz and American jazz classics, displaying his solid yet lyrical touch, ringing clear harmonic palette and timbral elegance. His interpretation of Bill Evans on the title track is one of the finest versions of the tune ever recorded, with Evans' long lyric lines captured here with a different emphasis placed on the accents and the ostinato. There is no inversion of line, but an extension of the already grand scheme of Evans' harmonic language. On Coltrane's "Satellite," the essence of the modal experiment the saxophonist placed on the interaction of treble instrument to bass is highlighted by Stenson as he and Jormin move the mode through three intervals, each one more compact than the last, until only the essence remains. And on his own "Coming on the Bike," Stenson reveals his singular lyricism, coming out of Evans, it shapes a melody in subtle shades of green, blue, and gray while putting forth enough physical force to push a rhythm section to fluctuate the tempo between them. Finally, Stenson closes with Ornette Coleman's "Ramblin," which has become a staple of his live set. Catching the saxophonist's eerie melody squarely on the one, he striates the harmony by comping and soloing at the same time in oddly voiced diminished chords that echo both the blues and the swinging R&B of Coleman's Texas, without allowing himself to float through the middle; it's all rhythm and punch and melodic invention as he plays counterpoint to his own rhythmic sensibilities. Having this available in a digital format is a treat indeed.
(This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa')
Tracklist :
1     Moon and Sand 6'24
Alec Wilder
2     Some Other Spring 7'47
Irene Kitchings
3     Very Early 7'14
Bill Evans
4     Autumn in New York 7'03
Vernon Duke
5     Coming on the Bike 8'22
Bobo Stenson
6     Pavane 5'02
Gabriel Fauré
7     Satellite 6'48
John Coltrane
8     Sorg 7'23
Anders Jormin
9     Ramblin' 4'42
Ornette Coleman
Credits :
Bobo Stenson   Piano
Anders Jormin   Double Bass
Rune Carlsson    Drums

BOBO STENSON TRIO - War Orphans (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

While the last Bobo Stenson Trio offering found the band cohesively searching for a new harmonic language together and separately as composers, on War Orphans they seem to have found it. Stenson (piano), Anders Jormin (double bass), and Jon Christensen (drums) have sought to distill their tonal language into meditational musical space. They are content to open everything up slowly to get everybody on board and then head for new harmonic directions constantly, through melodic invention and lyrical interplay. As evidence of this, only one of the album's eight selections is by Stenson, three are by Jormin, and the rest by Ornette Coleman (two works including the title), Duke Ellington, and Silvio Rodriguez, whose "Oleo de Mujer Con Sombrero" opens the album. Stenson plays the melody in the upper register, a full octave higher than the original. Jormin takes a Mingus-like role, playing melody and counterpoint simultaneously and never stepping out of Christensen's rhythmic boundaries. On Coleman's title track, the trio fuels a quiet fire with responsive harmonic invention by tracking mode and interval to the melodic source -- and if you can't hear melody in Coleman, then you can't hear. Stenson takes the melodic idea, reduces it to five notes, and allows Jormin to bow in near silence as if he were playing a drum. The tonal range of his restraint is noted in the way Stenson reassembles the melody and brings with it the resident deep emotion it was composed with. Christensen whispers along his cymbals and snare. The delicate overtonal balance is swaying between piano and bass, fragile, sorrowful, and sharp. When Stenson finds the melodic part of the tune coming around again, he stutters and staggers the harmony, and just when you think it will go into overdrive, his glistens head to a shimmering, near-silent close. This was truly a meditation on death. On Jormin's "Sediment" we hear the lighter side of the trio playing out a series of chromatic interludes that resemble preludes but are actually interludes with a melodic framework to guide them through their open, spatial architecture here. On this tune, we can hear Paul Bley's influence come to bear on Stenson, as he organizes the melodic frame around the space Jormin has given him to play it. It's cool and collected and musically out of this world when Stenson's arpeggios begin to move angularly against the rhythm. The set closes with a gorgeous reading of Ellington's "Melancholia," a healthy dose of balladic psychosis wrapped around a creative jazz fugue. Everyone seems to be playing out of time, but the time is in the center of the changes that are stretched out to the breaking point and left for dead as new ones enter the intervallic proscenium. Stenson's power as a pianist is in full evidence here; one can hear every year he put in with Charles Lloyd holding down the ever-weird fort where melody and harmonic strangeness fought each and every night and resolution was temporal and fleeting. As the trio moves through the middle and end of the tune, it's Christensen who shows its true flavor by stomping the sh*t out of the rhythm and changing it to suit his own improvisational needs since the band is so adaptable. Seven time signatures reveal themselves before it's all done and a flurry of soft arpeggios on top of diminished ninths. As the melody disappears into silence, the listener becomes aware that he or she has just witnessed something aurally so special he or she will be tempted never to play it again for fear of losing its feeling. Not to worry; it happens every time.
(This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa')
Tracklist :
1    Oleo de mujer con sombrero 8'30
(Silvio Rodríguez)
2    Natt 8'07
(Anders Jormin)
3    All My Life 6'24
(Ornette Coleman)
4    Eleventh Of January 5'55
(Anders Jormin)
5    War Orphans 6'16
(Ornette Coleman)
6    Sediment 5'20
(Anders Jormin)
7    Bengali Blue 8'16
(Bobo Stenson)
8    Melancholia 5'28
(Duke Ellington)
Credits :
Bobo Stenson   Piano
Anders Jormin   Double Bass
Jon Christensen   Drums

BOBO STENSON TRIO - Serenity (2000) 2CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Over its last two albums, Reflections (ECM 1516) and War Orphans (ECM 1604), the Bobo Stenson Trio has enveloped itself in a study of chromatic lyricism and modal architecture that balances the three traditional jazz elements for alchemy -- rhythm, harmony, and melody -- the organization of space within the composition. On Serenity -- the group's most ambitious project to date and Stenson's ever -- the Bobo Stenson Trio (Bobo Stenson, piano; Anders Jormin, bass; Jon Christensen, drums) has taken the results of its earlier explorations along this line and transformed them into an entirely new kind of spontaneous compositional terrain, one that holds balance for the space between players rather than on individual contributions of sound. The fact that this methodological apparatus has worked lyrically with adherence to Western scale and melodic invention is a surprise; that it has deepened over time as the band's communication and sense of adventure develops is a wonder. Over two CDs, Stenson proves his trio is capable of realizing spatial improvisation in the context of not only their own compositions and improvisations, but within the constructs of composers such as Wayne Shorter ("Sweet Pea"), Hanns Eisler ("Der Flaumenbaum"), Alban Berg ("Die Nachtigall"), Silvio Rodriguez ("EL Mayor") -- a Stenson favorite -- and Lorens Brolen, whose two-part "Polska of Despair" unites each of the CDs in the package and the recording date as a whole. Given the track record of Stenson and Jormin to compose or invent the kind of musico-linguistic symbolism necessary for this kind of improvising, it is perhaps more useful to look outside the quartet into some of these other compositions to see how their method of performance can reconcile Charles Ives, Berg, Eisler, and Wayne Shorter to one another while not betraying any hint of the composer's or trio's original intention, that a music as ethereal and strikingly crystalline and beautiful such as Stenson's can hold within it the apparent contradictions of atonalism, serialism, and vanguard humor (Ives). On Bolen's "Polska of Despair II," which appears on the first disc, Stenson and Jormin call the melody up with triads and fourths, as Christensen dances between them. On the third measure the melody introduces itself between triads, and other chords enter the space between the three members. Jormin moves to build upon those chords a minimal architecture of harmony and rhythm that is fed back to Stenson, who spaces out an even greater number of chords, all played in triad form, tossing out all sorts of rhythmic possibilities to Christensen, who moves away from his brushes and onto his sticks just as the chords disappear in a glimmer and single-note runs begin to appear from both piano and bass. The entire tune is open now, so chords both plucked and played can enter into a dialogue with one another and offer tonal sonances as a communicative gift to a drummer who contains all of it by moving forward into the next measure and stripping the seam for small arpeggios, and flatted sevenths tonally engage with other chords, and melody seeps through over the tonal structure of the improvisation. On Shorter's "Sweet Pea," percussion leads the way in; restrained, almost silent rhythmic patterns and polyrhythms introduce themselves via the drums, cymbals, the body of the bass, and the wooden top of the piano. It's the sound of a clock double-timing and reversing itself. As it gradually winds down, bass and then piano enter, creating a chromatic interval that stretches seemingly forever though it's only a minute or so. The harmony is the melody in Shorter's tune so chords and scalar invention go hand in hand in a restrained dynamic range gushing over only once or twice. The group's improvisations are stunningly original as well. "Fader V" by Stenson is a shimmering study in microtonal improvisation and space from the inside of the piano until it logically leads out via Christensen's tomtoms and two open E lines from Jormin. Without fail, the deep lyrical song at the root of Stenson's style and this trio's heart carries it out over the piano and into a space that is forever widening around the skeins of notes and chords. On Berg's "Die Nachtigall," the trio reveals the hidden melodic nature of serialism via timbral exploration and tempered tonal extension. Simply put, there are no records like the Stenson Trio's Serenity. The band has outdone themselves by their slow, careful development over three records and has become one of the premier rhythm trios on the planet. Serenity is not only the group's coup de grace, but also a jazz masterpiece of the highest order.
(This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa')
Tracklist 1 :
1    T. 6'43
(Anders Jormin)
2    West Print 2'21
(Bobo Stenson)
3    North Print 2'01
(Anders Jormin)
4    East Print 2'38
(Jon Christensen)
5    South Print 2'29
(Bobo Stenson)
6    Polska of Despair (II) 4'37
(Traditional)
7    Golden Rain 5'12
(Bobo Stenson)
8    Swee Pea 6'51
(Wayne Shorter)
9    Simple & Sweet 8'14
(Anders Jormin)
10    Der Pflaumenbaum 4'31
(Hanns Eisler)
Tracklist 2 :
1    El Maylor 5'26
(Silvio Rodríguez)
2    Fader V (Father World) 7'20
(Bobo Stenson)
3    More Cymbals 4'14
(Anders Jormin, Bobo Stenson, Manfred Eicher)
4    Extra Low 0'38
(Anders Jormin, Manfred Eicher, Bobo Stenson)
5    Die Nachtigall 4'48
(Alban Berg)
6    Rimbaud Gedicht 3'12
(Hanns Eisler)
7    Polska of Despair (I) 6'51
(Traditional)
8    Serenity 5'16
(Charles Ives)
9    Tonus 6'14
(Bobo Stenson)
Credits :
Bobo Stenson   Piano
Anders Jormin   Double Bass
Jon Christensen   Drums

BOBO STENSON | ANDERS JORMIN | PAUL MOTIAN - Goodbye (2005) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Goodbye is one of, if not the most expansive and diverse collections pianist Bobo Stenson has ever released. This is his first ECM release in five years. Paul Motian takes over the drum chair vacated by Jon Christensen, and his shimmering, deep listening and subtlety add to the excellence and sheer quiet beauty of this recording. Goodbye is more a recording of songs than jazz pieces -- at least in a traditional sense. This trio doesn't swing, they play, they slowly dance through the lyric pieces found here. An excellent example is the opener, a cover of the way over-recorded "Send in the Clowns," by Stephen Sondheim. Stenson's approach to the melody is spacious, pensive, and utterly sympathetic. He removes the melodrama and instead replaces it with empathy and understatement. That he's not a flashy player should not be held against him, but celebrated in an age of pyrotechnic musicianship that often leaves emotion and nuance out of the creative and technical mix. Stenson is an awesome pianist with his choice, haunting, harmonic shades in his performances of Argentinean composer Ariel Ramirez's "Alfonsia," or in Henry Purcell's "Music for a While." This trio plays democratically, as well; there are no imbalances. Anders Jormin's bass work is utterly simpatico with Motian's drumming. His gorgeous arco work on Tony Williams' "There Comes a Time," is one of the few moments where he stands out, but it's not about that at all, it's about the harmony of the trio to interpret and express what can be so easily lost in a song: its heart. Jormin is also the band's arranger on the classical pieces. And he composed four of the set's works (Motian and Stenson contributed one each). The album closes with a spirited read of Ornette Coleman's "Race Face," where the band stretches, and engages jazz lightheartedly, with chops at the ready. Again, it is Stenson's ability to find the soul in Coleman's tune; with its repetitive phrasing gives the band a jump-off point. Motian kicks it into medium-high gear and there's something approaching more conventional notions of swing here, but it's extrapolated, pushed over the edge, into a more spacious and less strident space. Given the wait for this album, one can only say that they disc should have been titled, "Welcome Back; We Missed You."
(This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa')
Tracklist :
1    Send In The Clowns 4'14
(Stephen Sondheim)
2    Rowan 6'02
(Anders Jormin)
3    Alfonsina 5'07
(Ariel Ramírez)
4    There Comes A Time 6'37
(Tony Williams)
5    Song About Earth 7'11
(Vladimir Vysotsky, Thomas Meyer-Berlin)
6    Seli 8'45
(Anders Jormin)
7    Goodbye 6'35
(Gordon Jenkins)
8    Music For A While 5'13
(Henry Purcell)
9    Allegretto Rubato 5'23
(Anders Jormin)
10    Jack Of Clubs 2'55
(Paul Motian)
11    Sudan 2'34
(Paul Motian)
12    Queer Street 2'03
(Bobo Stenson)
13    Triple Play 1'56
(Anders Jormin)
14    Race Face 4'39
(Ornette Coleman)
Credits :
Bobo Stenson   Piano
Anders Jormin   Double Bass
Paul Motian   Drums

BOBO STENSON TRIO - Cantando (2008) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Cantando marks the second time in as many albums that pianist and composer Bobo Stenson is making a personnel change in the drum chair of his trio. For many jazz artists this wouldn't even be a major consideration, as the transient nature of the music lends itself to such changes. But Stenson, along with longtime bassist Anders Jormin (20 years), has only made a total of six recordings in 37 years including this one, and former drummer Jon Christensen held that chair for 29 of them. Paul Motian stepped in for 2005's Goodbye and offered a different, mildly busier approach, though it too was rooted in the slow and deliberate spaciousness that has been at the heart of Stenson's music from the beginning. But 29-year-old drummer Jon Fält (Nordic Quintet) lends something else entirely to Stenson's brew as he may continue in Motian's footsteps as an elegant player but he is more physical dynamically, and more active in his sense of adventure. Another aspect of the change inherent in Stenson's approach to music-making would be the selection of material by other composers. Of the 11 pieces here, only one, "Pages," is an original; and it is a long improvisational work that sits dead-center on the album, compiled chop-up style from four demos by producer Manfred Eicher. It is credited to all three members. The other works here are by a highly divergent group of authors, from Ornette Coleman to Alban Berg, from Czech composer Peter Iben to the late Argentine nuevo tango composer Astor Piazzolla, from Don Cherry to Cuban vocalist Silvio Rodríguez. These choices are all impeccable. Rodríguez's "Olivia" opens the set with its insistent lyricism and tender melody line. The interplay between Jormin -- one of the greatest bassists ever to appear on ECM and one of the most technically gifted players in the music today -- and Fält, with his dancing cymbal work and beat-heavy brushes on the tom-toms, offers an uncharacteristically tight space for Stenson in the melody and in his solo. Of course he rises to the occasion with glorious ostinati and syncopated arpeggios. Cherry's "Don's Kora Song" begins with the rhythm section, in particular the held, clipped cymbal sound by Fält that accompanies the insistent, woody attack by Jormin in an insistent rhythm. Stenson begins by rumbling in the lowest register before gradually moving toward the center with a mysterious minor-key articulation of Cherry's lyric line and developing a solo of chords into the middle of that as Fält allows the cone of the cymbals to ring more with his attack. Jormin is dazzling as he propels the tune from underneath. Coleman's "A Fixed Goal" follows this, and the reading is wonderful. With its playful, staccato melody echoing a nursery rhyme ethos and decidedly marked harmonic lines and rhythmic shifts, it is the perfect number for this trio. Stenson's solo is dazzling. The real mettle of the trio is on "Pages," where the group plays freely -- for Stenson -- with time, space, and texture. Fält and Jormin are wonderful together, continually challenging and complementing, and Stenson's elastic melodic sense is given new elasticity. This is a stellar effort that announces -- hopefully -- an extended run for this trio.
(This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa')
Tracklist :
1    Olivia 6'38
(Silvio Rodríguez)
2    Song Of Ruth 6'42
(Petr Eben)
3    Wooden Church 7'01
(Anders Jormin)
4    M 7'59    
(Anders Jormin)
5    Chiquilin de Bachin 8'04
(Astor Piazzolla)
6    Pages 13'40
(Anders Jormin, Bobo Stenson, Jon Fält)
7    Don's Kora Song 5'08
(Don Cherry)
8    A Fixed Goal 4'12
(Ornette Coleman)
9    Love, I've Found You 3'12
(Connie Moore, Danny Small)
10    Liebesode 8'36
(Alban Berg)
11    Song Of Ruth, var. 6'47
(Petr Eben)
Credits :
Bobo Stenson   Piano
Anders Jormin   Double Bass
Jon Fält   Drums

BOBO STENSON TRIO - Indicum (2012) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Any listener familiar with Bobo Stenson's work knows that extensive range is a trademark on his records. Indicum is no exception. With longtime bassist Anders Jormin and drummer Jon Fält, he takes on works by Bill Evans, George Russell, contemporary sacred composition, free group improv, traditional hymns, and jazz reads of Carl Nielsen on this 12-track set. Stenson opens with a brief solo reading of Evans' "Your Story," dedicated to the late Paul Motian, who had held the drum chair on the Trio's 2005 album, Goodbye. It's elegant, emotive, and bears the hallmarks of Stenson's sparse yet striking chords. "Indikon," the first of three group improvs, commences with Fält's solo. The pianist enters with an abundant lyricism, weighted by Jormin's slow, studied pulse. As the players engage and trade the foreground, an organic process emerges and begins its evolution. On "Indigo," dark minor keys emerge from the tune's body to create dramatic tension. Jormin's low end adds a force to Stenson's argument, but Fält's shimmering cymbals and flat snare counter it all, creating balance. The set includes version of Wolf Bierman's protest song "Ermutigung," which shimmers even as it swings; its melancholy overtones embraced and articulated fully in Jormin's song-like solo. The inclusion of Argentinian composer Ariel Ramirez's "La Peregrinacion" illustrates how subtle, even hidden aspects of rhythmic interplay are evoked inside this group's lyric improvisation. The other end of the folk spectrum is highlighted in the Norwegian traditional "Ave Maria." The sacred melody is pronounced, then shifted to find the margin. In its place, a haunting improvisation/dialogue illustrates the many harmonic possibilities in its formal architecture. Jormin's "Sol" is a fine vehicle for him and Fält. Stenson doesn't enter until two minutes into the conversation. When he does, it's via a series of carefully spaced triads that frame Jormin's arco. Before the tune gels, it hints at post-bop without indulging it, yet its graceful sense of swing is implicit. Album-closer "Ubi Caritas" is a choral piece by contemporary composer Ola Gjeilo. In intent, it walks a line between modern and medieval music. But Stenson uses its structural evocation of plain chant in his chords and allows Jormin a soprano-like quality with his bow. Fält skeletally and spaciously accents it all, keeping the tune's mysterious quality intact. The Stenson Trio is the rarest of bands, one that approaches its material as a series of queries to be summarily explored, rather than statements to be made. As such, Indicum succeeds in spades.
(This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa')
Tracklist :
1    Your Story 2'52
(Bill Evans)
2    Indikon 6'03
(Jon Fält, Bobo Stenson, Anders Jormin)
3    Indicum 3'10
(Bobo Stenson, Jon Fält, Anders Jormin)
4    Ermutigung 5'09
(Wolf Biermann)
5    Indigo 4'20
(Jon Fält, Bobo Stenson, Anders Jormin)
6    December 4'55
(Anders Jormin)
7    La Peregrinacion 8'26
(Ariel Ramírez)
8    Event VI 3'11
(George Russell)
9    Ave Maria 7'48
(Traditional)
10    Tit er jeg glad 6'42
(Carl Nielsen)
11    Sol 9'11
(Anders Jormin)
12    Ubi Caritas 6'41
(Ola Gjeilo)
Credits :
Bobo Stenson   Piano
Anders Jormin   Double Bass
Jon Fält   Drums

MARTIN SPEAKE - Change of Heart (2006) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

The roots of the “Change of Heart“ project go back to 1993, when English saxophonist Martin Speake, for many years an admirer of Paul Motian’s music (he has cited Motian’s trio with Frisell and Lovano as his “favourite band in jazz”), sent some of his own work to the great American drummer. Paul responded with enthusiasm, and a tour of Britain was quickly set up, in a new group that included Mick Hutton on bass. The ’93 group played both Speake’s and Motian’s pieces, and excited the press. In The Guardian, John Fordham wrote that, “Speake’s saxophone sound is a mixture of fragile, silvery high-register playing and a plush, flugelhorn-like mid-range, and his momentum has an unswerving resolution of tempo. In these respects, he resembles a Fifties Cool School improviser, but his phrasing represents a far more contemporary chemistry of long zigzagging lines and unexpected resolutions...Motian’s light, impulsive touch lent buoyancy to everything, but the London musicians sounded as if they’d worked with him for years...”.
 
With a commission to prepare new music for the Cheltenham Jazz Festival in 2000, Speake added Swedish pianist Bobo Stenson to the quartet, shaping material to accommodate Stenson’s conception of jazz, as well as Motian’s. At the time, Speake stressed “the importance of melody, reflection, interaction, and strong grooves in the music. A commitment to genuine improvisation is something that links each member of the band.” Motian and Stenson, who had never played together before, got along so well that the drummer subsequently joined the Swedish pianist’s band, recording with him on the acclaimed “Goodbye” album (ECM 1904).
 
The quartet made two tours of Britain before heading to Oslo to make “Change of Heart”, under Manfred Eicher’s direction. Inside Speake’s well-crafted compositions, it is the interaction between Stenson’s rolling piano and Motian’s capricious drums that gives the group its unique impetus, but bassist Mick Hutton also has many strong moments - ‘earthing’ the music, providing an emotional undertow, his choice of notes occasionally reminiscent of Charlie Haden. The leader’s acerbic alto hovers o. ecm
Tracklist :
1    The Healing Power Of Intimacy 6'57
(Martin Speake)
2    Change Of Heart 4'39
(Martin Speake)
3    Barefaced Thieves 5'26
(Martin Speake)
4    Venn 4'15
(Martin Speake)
5    Buried Somewhere 9'01
(Martin Speake)
6    In The Moment 5'12
(Martin Speake)
7    Three Hours 8'18
(Martin Speake)
8    In Code 8'38
(Martin Speake)
Credits :
Martin Speake   Saxophone
Bobo Stenson   Piano
Mick Hutton   Bass
Paul Motian   Drums 

TOMASZ STANKO - Bosonossa and Other Ballads [1993] FLAC

Polish trumpeter, bandleader, and composer Tomasz Stanko has created a ballads album worthy of the hearty approval of his former employer, Kryzsztof Pendereki. With the aid of pianist Bobo Stenson, bassist Anders Jormin, and drummer Tony Oxley, Stanko has composed and recorded a series of vanguard ballads that make full use of his tonal palette and chromatic invention. Stanko composes a great deal for film and here it shows with the lush textures, rich timbres, and angular sonances. The set opens with the glorious "Sunia," which features Stenson in an unusually aggressive mode, attacking the upper middle register with 16-note runs and turnarounds in the key signature before Stanko brings it back to earth, very slowly with a mournful wail with a hearty echo put on his trumpet. On "Morning Heavy Song," it feels like all the funerals in the world have been times to begin at once. With the difficult, angular trumpet lines criss-crossing the middle registers of Stenson's piano with large, dense chords, it could have been entitled "Morning Suicide Song." The title track is a sweet relief in the contrapuntal lyricism between Stanko and Stenson and the point-on-point drumming of Oxley, who shifts his allegiances from tune to soloist with amazing alacrity. In all, pretty much a stunner from Stanko, and every bit the equal, if not the superior, of any of his ECM titles.  by Thom Jurek 
Tracklist
1 Sunia 13:14
2 White Ballad 9:52
3 Maldoror's War Song 9:06
4 Morning Heavy Song 8:16
5 Bosonossa 8:19
6 Die Weisheit Von Isidore Ducasse 9:39
Credits
Bass – Anders Jormin
Composed By, Producer – Tomasz Stańko
Drums – Tony Oxley
Piano – Bobo Stenson
Trumpet – Tomasz Stańko

TOMASZ STANKO - Bosonossa and Other Ballads

1993 GOWI Records / FLAC / scans

O Púbis da Rosa