TERJE RYPDAL

This album, is very special ... though I think some folks might not like the first piece, that kinda gives you some idea of ... NOTHING LIKE THE REST OF THE ALBUM ... you get the thought that this might be the ending of a rock piece on stage .... you blow the folks out!

And then, we get blown out, very differently! The title piece is next and right away you know ... that this is far out and special, if it continues ... and while not giving it away, yes it does continue, and it should considered one of the best "chamber music" albums EVER done ... even though "chamber music" is not (usually) electric, this time, the guitar has some effects, as does the bass that David Darling plays, and the feeling and expression and togetherness in bringing these to you, is not only far out ... it is amazing, and superb.

When I first heard this, some 35 years ago, the first thing I thought was ... WOW ... this is by very far one of my special ECM albums, and with one other (Egberto Gismonti's No Caipira), these two are the most amazing and special things that you will likely ever hear ... I would love to be in the audience and hear these two play some of these things ... the development of the pieces and the sound, is extraordinary, and if there is to be a definition of "modern" chamber music, I have never heard another one as good and as special as this album is.

EOS, the title piece, is, maybe, a very ambient piece, and perhaps a very dreamy thing that takes you away quickly ... and when Terje hits his spot up higher, all you can say is ... wow ... that's neat! And perhaps the greatest part of it, is that they are not in a hurry, and take their time with the flow of the piece, which is something that is very clear on the other pieces on the album. You don't feel like there is too much of this or that ... instead you want to find out where this is going ... which is even more exciting, as you sit and hear it ... I kinda call it a dance for the universe ... a truly beautiful expression.

I, in general, do not like what is known and called "solos", specially on some instruments, when the whole thought and idea is really about note and chord abuse, a lot more than it is about how it feels and works ... if one wants to fly, the "solo" can not be mechanical ... it has to surprise you, and this is something that we fist heard bits and pieces of by Jimi Hendrix ... and hearing Terje Rypdal do this many years later, is sad ... because it makes me wonder what Jimi would do ... I seriously doubt that he would remain in the "blues" and the easier stuff out there ... his touch was beyond a lot of music, and not something that can be exactly taught ... and hearing Terje Rypdal do this, makes one wonder, how he originally saw this and came to it ... and we can go back to some of his earlier stuff and his "third stream" moments with ODYSSEY ... but we know he came from a musical family (classical) ... and I get the feeling that he made a call to not be "mechanical" like so many classical music players, in so many orchestras and bands.

BEDTIME STORY, is one of those things that cries visual .. you can just about see a child falling asleep as you play along ... imagining how you feel about it, and appreciating the young person ... and you make it sound like a lullaby to help the child fall asleep. Not sure there is any other way to describe this at all ... a superb touch throughout the whole piece ... as you try to feel out what your feelings are ... and so well described in this piece. It leaves no doubt, as to what this is about and how we feel about it ... a rare touch ... very rare touch and so beautiful ... something that we never imagined in a "solo" in any rock or jazz piece. This defies description ... I call it movie music!

LIGHT YEARS ... and MELODY, the next pieces, are a bit different, though the chamber design is still there, but it has a more modern and classical side to it, specially for David Darling.

Perhaps the best thing in this album, is that it is not trying to be jazz, rock, or anything else, except some visual/movie like music within a "chamber" style of music, that is often about the quietness and its presentation, and not the notes, or the virtuosity of the players ... and this has a tendency to bring up for our minds, what it is that we like in music ... for me, it is "the movie" and music that is free to express itself (ie. without a high school drummer, or not trying to sound like anyone else!)

MIRAGE, is very much that ... I kinda thought that it was looking for somewhere to go, and it appears that it did not matter where it went ... after all, that is the nature of a mirage ... a fleeting thought of something we might have seen, but seems like it was not there.

ADAGIETTO is the one piece that is likely to get our attention the most ... when Terje Rypdal hits the high notes, and then floats out of them, can't even say falls out of them, this piece just sits in your heart ... a soft piece, so soothe and enjoy ... all you can really do, and need here, is to close your eyes, and enjoy it all ...

One of the best albums EVER, in my book, original and special, and (sadly enough!!!) not well known in terms of a Terje Rypdal listing ... of all the albums of his I have, this one is the one I always remember when wanting to listen to some Terje Rypdal ... it's beauty is too much ... and all you can do is lay down, and likely fall asleep ... that's how soothing and quiet this album is, which makes that opening piece an eye opener, and a fun way to say ... this is not a rock solo and loud noise! And while it makes sense, in a way, sadly it probably turns off many folks, though I think this was intentional in order to get the attention they needed and wanted for this wonderful work ... there aren't many albums that live so far, and well.

5 GIBLOONS

Modern music came about for its ability to free form and try to break the shackles of the rigidity of a lot of classical music and scores. Jazz was, originally, a title that was given to music that had more freedom, and was not considered classical, or important, because of the personal style in the music. One could say, that classical music tends to diminish the individuality in favor of an idea about the music ... jazz is almost totally opposite that since it is usual, for anyone to think up ideas about what the music is, or represents ... I like to suggest it is like the wind ... it's just the wind ... and we don't define it beyond that!

Terje Rypdal, at least for the work he did on "ODYSSEY", (not based on stories btw), is Terje's personal experience. To be more accurate, to hear his guitar experimenting on top of music, that had some jazz leanings, but in many ways, sounds different, even allowing us to think that this might be a riff for a pop song ... and here, we get surprised ... it doesn't break into a "song" ... it continues allowing the guitar its freedom.

Terje Rypdal was doing this some 15 years after that idea was defined, and it is possible/likely that he might have perfected it better, even though one got the notion that it was strictly an improvisation from beginning to the end, which is not something that we worry about in the jazz culture at all. When hearing "ODYSSEY", it does not feel like something new is being tried out, although it is possible that Manfred Eicher (ECM RECORDS) probably thought this was far out and specially different from what he was doing with his label, that was infused with a lot of experiments at the time, many of which fit the European styles of music adventures ... with a large history of classical music, the evolution of jazz was very natural in Europe, whereas in America it was more individual and solo related, and not close to anything considered classical until later. And then, in America, we get someone going a hundred percent against the norm, and the pattern in America ... we got Miles Davis who blew out the house, and likely cleaned up his free form in Europe, where he knew he could do anything he wanted.

ODYSSEY is a wonderful album, but something that might take some good ear tuning to be appreciated. The only thing that is clear, and easier to pick up, is that everything in this album is but a background to what Terje Rypdal will do with his guitar, or any other instrument. Terje is joined by a strong organ (Brynjulf Blix) player, and a bass guitar (Sveinung Hovensjo) and drums (Svein Christiansen) and occasionally a trombone (Tornbjorn Sunde).

It is an interesting touch ... the background is a quiet, meditative like sound, that contrasts the guitar really well, but the surprise is that ... it works ... it doesn't sound odd or out of place, and the pieces are very nice and enjoyable, even though some folks are going to say this is not exactly jazz, though the background certainly is ... and you almost could say that Terje Rypdal is doing a really good impression of Miles Davis with a totally different instrument, but no less expressive in any way at all.

And this album is his 6th ... which would suggest that Terje is very comfortable with what he did, though I can not say (and will check it out) his earlier material.

The special pieces here are the long ones ... Midnight, Adagio and Fare Well, all stand out a lot. A later release had another long piece ... Rolling Stone which was even longer and I believe it was on the LP when it first came out as a double, though not on the first CD released in 1988.

A very special album, and in many ways, I would even suggest a must have in one's jazz collection, specially as the mix of classical and jazz was not as visible at the time of its release.

Outstanding album. A must have for folks that are jazz'd out there! Think of Miles on electric guitar ... and then close your eyes while listening!

1. "Keep It Like That - Tight" (12:10) spacious-yet-steady syncopated bass and drums over which Terje issues strums of odd distorted electric guitar chords for five minutes. Then there is a dramatic shift (spliced?) into a slightly more straightforward section of same palette, different rhythm pattern, over which Jan Garbarek's tenor sax screeches and wails. At 8:49 the electric piano of Bobo Stenson suddenly rises into the middle of the mix (a blocked track that is now 'faded in'?) but it's Terje's distorted guitar that soon takes over in the lead position with some aggressive and abrasive soloing over the more-Miles Davis-like sound palette. Even some of the rhythmic and palette constructs feel as if they're direct imitations of In a Silent Way and some of Bitches Brew.) (17.25/25)

2. "Rainbow" (7:05) bowed bass and triangle and nut shell shakers open this one with a sinister feel. Oboe and clarinet join in to make a soundscape that feels like an outer space version of a Paul Winter Consort piece. Interesting, eerie, and cinematic. I'd love to see the music charts for this one! (13/15)

3. "Electric Fantasy" (15:45) more "space symphony" music using different instruments to create an initial sonic field to the previous song: drums, electric bass, Herbie Hancock Mwandishi-like electric piano, reverb-effected winds, fast- reverbed (and/or flanged) wah-ed electric guitar chords and even vocalese (courtesy of Inger Lise Rypdal) offer sound into a vacuum: the notes/chords fast-fading off into the distant stars as soon as they're issued. Very cool effects but about as memorable, melodic, or engaging as the previous song--even in the 11th-minute when the release of aggression and volume are ramped up (which all ends in the 12th-minute as everything goes back to the space music of the opening). Weird to claim one's highlight to be the vocalise from the female voice. (26/30)

4. "Lontano II" (3:10) more sinister music, this time feeling more industrial: as if music coming out of the mouths of tunnels or holes in the Earth. Bowed and effected bass and strained guitar chords, finger percussion, but mostly a show of engineering effects. (8.666667/10)

5. "Tough Enough" (4:45) solo electric guitar opening: some fast picking turning into gentle John McLaughlin-like chords, played off of by bassist Bjørner Andresen and Jon Christensen's drums. Though I don't really like this guitar sound and its blues-rock nature, the instrumental play and mix is my favorite on the album: there's actual motion and as if a story is being told as opposed to the spacious generations of soundscapes of all of the previous songs. These guys can play! (8.75/10)

Total time: 42:57

B/four stars; not my favorite Terje album or sound exhibition.

1. "Dead Man´s Tale" (7:03) Hawai'in guitar over Hammond organ and blues band (with loud kick drum) over which Terje sings in a very lovely emotional voice. Total blues. Beautiful interplay between the Hammond and Terje's voice, guitar, and flute. Christian Reim's Hammond play is actually good even if his instrument is recorded a little dirty. (14/15)

2. "Wes" (4:15) big band horns with Terje's chameleonic guitar. The rhythm section sets up a couple of excellent swing patterns that they smoothly from, back and forth, over the course of the album. Great song with great solo performances from Wes and saxophonist Carl Neumann. At times Terje's guitar sounds Wes Montgomery-like, at others less so. (9.25/10)

3. "Winter Serenade" (6:04) imitation wolf sounds with delicate piano tinkling and percussives open this before the piano takes over. Guitar sneakily joins in during the first half of the second minute with a lot of wobbling sounds-- single string and whole fretboard. Horns and drums add a variety of wind-like bursts and gusts as the storm arrives and its intensity increases, varies, and wavers. Ingenious orchestration of musical instruments to achieve such a mirroring "reproduction" of Mother Nature. (9/10): - a) Falling Snow - b) Snow Storm - c) Melting Snow

4. "Bleak House" (7:05) this one starts out soft and slow, sounding very Sixties, but then the loud big band horns join in and the song becomes something totally different--even transforming the guitarist right before our ears. It's part Larry CORYELL, part DON ELLIS ORCHESTRA! The bass, drums, guitar, and saxophone performances are all excellent but it's those horns that carry this one over the top! An excellent, lively, and very melodic song. (14.25/15)

5. "Sonority" (5:21) a song of stunning emotion and tenderness--even from the horns! Terje's electric guitar expresses a feeling of such depth, pain and beauty as to evoke tears. I've only heard Roy Buchanan do it as well! The best song on a great album and one of the prettiest jazz songs I've ever heard. (10/10)

6. "A Feeling Of Harmony" (2:29) acoustic guitar, flute, and wordless voice scatting from the artist alone. Feels sounds like an intimate moment from Maestro John Martyn. (9.5/10)

Total time 33:05

A/five stars; a shocking revelation of masterful jazz-rock fusion A remarkable achievement of music for 1967-68 with some breathtakingly beautiful music. One of the finest most unforgettable musical listening experiences I've ever had the privilege of hearing. If anything on PA is to be considered "essential" in order to try to understand our beloved musical genre, this might be it.

An interesting start to the album with "Ambiguity" as it opens with a drum solo before Terje joins in then bass. How about that guitar! So good! Terje changes his style to riffs after 3 minutes making me think of the 80's. Then we get this guitar melody that screams GENESIS. So cool. The guitar is crying out before 7 minutes as Rypdal changes it up again. "Once Upon A Time" is pretty mellow although the guitar does get more passionate as this plays out. A calm at 4 1/2 minutes to the end.

"Geysir" is excellent with the guitar being so inventive as the drums rumble. Bass after a minute as the guitar steps aside but not for long. Love the guitar on this one. Tracks 4 and 5 the two middle songs are very laid back overall. The guitar and drums do get louder on track 5 after 2 minutes. Nice guitar work on the title track especially after 4 minutes as Terje lights it up. The closer is the perfect ending with those experimental sounds in the dark as the bass joins in. Such a chilled track with sparse sounds in the night. Suddenly before 3 minutes we get some life as the guitar starts to make some noise before this all fades into black.

Tough to know where to place this one as far as favourites go. "Whenever I Seem So far Away" is my favourite, such a special album but this one is right up there with many of his other works.

The 4-minute opening title track is IMHO an obvious highlight (it is indeed "in the 'Per Ulv' melodic tradition", as Rypdal states -- 'The Return of Per Ulv' on his previous album If Mountains Could Sing, 1995, is fantastic) but after that the album somewhat loses focus and wanders a bit too shapelessly in its introspective soundscapes. Especially the next, 7+ minute track 'In the Wilderness', which -- like several other pieces on Skywards -- is based on Rypdal's earlier composition.

'It's Not Over Until the Fat Lady Sings' is a tender piece with violin, cello and piano paving way for Rypdal's very distinctive electric guitar sound. This and the next one have some similarity to the impressionistic album The Sea, which was perhaps primarily pianist Ketil Björnstad's project but featured partly the same musicians as this album. The emotional impact however remains smaller here.

'Out of This World (Sinfonietta)' drags for roughly 16 minutes and concentrates on the spatial textures without a solid structure or clear melodies. A disappointing one, honestly, despite some nice trumpet on the last third. A nocturnal trumpet ang clanging of metal percussion are actually all there is on the slow and meditative-but-creepy 'Shining'. Sorry, again quite boring and pretentious artsy- fartsy stuff. 'Remember to Remember' is also a slow and meditative piece, but its flowing violin melodies are among the most pleasant details on this album, which I certainly wouldn't recommend as a starting point into Terje Rypdal's art. If you generally enjoy also the less melodic, calm and texture-centred European chamber jazz in the ECM label, give it a try.

The 54-minute set opens with 'The Sea [part] V' which begins in a stark, atonal way before entering into moody melodicism. This is what All Music Guide says of The Sea album: "The 12 parts set somber moods rather than introduce memorable themes and the only real excitement is supplied by Rypdal's rockish guitar. Some listeners may enjoy its introspective and peaceful nature of these performances but most will find this a bit of a bore." Well, that's probably true, this kind of music isn't for all. I have had memorable listenings of The Sea that vividly paints emotionally deep inner images of a solitary walk on a cold seashore. It sure helps if the listener has a certain warm attitude towards nature, melancholia and solitude. These words fit to this whole concert. The overall atmosphere is indeed introspective and moody, but certainly not without dynamics.

Rypdal's compositions are in minority (four out of 11), but I wish to point out that the concert represents piano and electric guitar as pretty equal components; with an exception of Edward Grieg's piano piece 'Notturno' all tracks are duo pieces, not solo. Ketil Bjørnstad is undoubtedly the more melancholy-oriented composer of the two, but Rypdal's pieces such as 'The Pleasure Is Mine, I'm Sure' or 'Easy Now' feel completely at home besides the pianist's compositions. Their individual, impressionistic musical expressions fit together extremely well.

Probably the concert would sound better and more versatile if for example cello and drums were participating too, but if you don't actively think of that, you won't find the piano & guitar duo lacking substance at all. The sonic quality is faultless. The audience is not much heard apart from the end, but they applause delightfully as they recognize the final piece 'The Return of Per Ulv' originally from Rypdal's If Mountains Could Sing (1995). Warmly recommended to friends of ECM's (often Norwegian) chamber jazz.

"Avskjed" opens with that organ-like sound as we get plenty of atmosphere until the trumpet and drums kick in. Guitar around 4 minutes as the trumpet continues. "Circles" is the longest song at over 11 minutes. The horn comes and goes before the guitar comes to the fore around 2 1/2 minutes as the drums beat randomly and we get organ-like pulses. The guitar is crying out after 6 1/2 minutes. This track seems improvised and it's quite abstract as well.

"Descendre" features that crying guitar with piano, a sparse beat and bells. "Innseiling" has this dark atmosphere as guitar and a horn join in. Lots of atmosphere then we get this change before 4 minutes as it brightens and picks up. Not really into this part though. It calms back down before 6 1/2 minutes as relaxed horns join in along with atmosphere and guitar.

"Man Of Mystery" has these mournful guitar sounds along with busy drum work. Some crazy horns after 5 minutes as drums and atmosphere help out. "Spell" is the closer and my favourite. Beautiful atmospheric pulsing keyboards as the guitar solos over top. Gorgeous stuff as a beat arrives. Trumpet before 2 1/2 minutes. I really like this chilled sound as sharp trumpet blasts come and go.

I would rate several of his studio albums over this one but this is another winner for sure.