Arcanum

Arcanum

Overview

Trumpeter/electronicist Arve Henriksen, saxophonist Trygve Seim, bassist Anders Jormin, and drummer Markku Ounaskari have worked together in various groupings since the late '90s. Most notably, they worked collectively on three of vocalist/kantele player Sinikka Langeland's albums -- 2006's Starflowers, 2011's The Land That Is Not, and 2016's The Magical Forest (the latter also with Trio Mediaeval) -- convincing them of their collective creative potential. Arcanum is the quartet's debut. These 16 cuts offer a seamless weave of avant-jazz and folk music that at times recalls early outings by Jan Garbarek and Bobo Stenson. That said, the ghosts haunting this outing include the Ornette Coleman Quartet with Don Cherry. Seim's "Nokitpyrt" is a case in point. While it's noted as a "tribute to Scandinavian elders," its backward spelling is eerily similar to Triptykon, the 1972 album by Garbarek. Under three-minutes long, its influence suggests the interplay of the Coleman band in its rendering of folk-esque lyric melody, ambient space, and improvisation. "Armen Lapset" is a traditional Finnish folk song. Its theme is introduced by Jormin playing the melody solo then improvising on it. He is joined by trumpet and soprano sax as Ounaskari offers painterly accompaniment on tom-toms. The four-minute "Folkesong" is collectively credited and is arguably composed in real time rather than improvised as set harmony and melody dictate rhythm until its midsection when Seim's soprano takes a solo. His "Trofast" offers a Coleman-tinged performance of what sounds like a Scandinavian folk song. "Lost in Vanløse" is introduced by the rhythm section engaging in canny, unhurried interplay framed by natural echo and Henriksen's subtle electronics for two-and-a-half minutes. When Seim enters, he reflects Jormin's resonant improvising back to him while beginning to treat his tenor like a human voice. It's breathtaking. "Old Dreams" is a group improv inspired by Cherry's Old and New Dreams band (comprised entirely of Coleman alumni). Jormin's "Koto" addresses the bassist's decades-long fascination with Japanese music (including his two albums with koto master Karin Nakagawa). The hushed interplay between Ounaskari's cymbals, bass, whispered trumpet, and soprano sax offers an elegiac melody punctuated by pregnant pauses. Led by the rhythm section, "Pharao" is an improv that balances modal blues and skeletal post-bop swing. Jormin's "Elegy" was composed on the day Ukraine was invaded. The woven sax and trumpet entwine in a bittersweet lyric as bassist and drummer maintain a processional pace. It's followed by a short, deeply moving Jormin arrangement of Coleman's "What Reason Could I Give." Three improvisations close the set. The two-minute "La Fontaine" offers a series of linked, unanswered harmonic questions. "Shadow Trail" offers droning soprano, trumpet, tenor, and arco bass underscored by bell-like cymbals and brushed snares. Closer "Fata Morgano" offers Eastern-tinged modalities in sparse, darkly tinged phrases and utterances from all four members with moaning tenor from Seim and Henriksen's unintrusive yet illustrative electronics. Arcanum is worth sitting down to listen to. Its restraint and harmonic and rhythmic invention blended with textured space offer mystery, jazz sophistication, and mastery. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date: 06/13/2025
Label: Ecm Records
UPC: 0602475104773

Tracks

  1. Nokitpyrt
  2. Blib A
  3. Armon Lapset
  4. Folkesong
  5. Trofast
  6. Lost in Vanløse
  7. Old Dreams
  8. Koto
  9. Polvere Uno
  10. Pharao
  11. Morning Meditation
  12. Elegy
  13. What Reason Could I Give
  14. La Fontaine
  15. Shadow Trail
  16. Fata Morgana

Album Credits

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