Recorded in October 1976
Reissued as part of Blue in Green: Early Quartets (ECM, 2010)
Persuasive European jazz led by Norweigan bassist Arild Andersen his group of fellow Scandinavians.
The sound and their music is characteristically "ECM" -- in the best sense of the word.
The bassist is still recording with all sorts of people. They key to this quartet is Juhani Aaltonen, the Finnish reed player, who made some memorable recordings for the TUM label from 2001-2013. Pianist Jansson is also still active, with a trio release in 2018 on the Storyville label. A companion ECM record in the 70s is "Green Shading into Blue" with the same quartet at Shimri.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the often maligned "ECM sound", I find the earlier albums from the 1970s to be more creative and compelling. Many of the label's new releases are real snoozes. Like most jazz, it's tempting to classify periods, labels, artists, etc. into convenient boxes, but it's also advised to approach each new recording with an open mind. What I do like about ECM is their production values, especially with the early analogue recordings. I'm really glad that Manfred Eicher has made a 50+ year commitment to oversee such a trove of wonderful music.