Elsa Nilsson Quartet - Dark is Light is (s/r, 2020) ****

 

By Paul Acquaro

Elsa Nilsson, a New York City based Swedish flutist, has released an album that celebrates the music surrounding the holiday of Lucia, a festival of lights, held on the Dec 13th, the Winter Solstice (according to the Gregorian calendar). So, it's a holiday album, but not one of the typical ones that you may expect at this time of year. Nilsson and her quartet have crafted and honed these arrangements over the past decade, performing them annually in Sweden. However, due to the pandemic, the quartet sought a different way to celebrate this year, thus Dark is Light is.

Nilsson has been very active this year, in fact this is her third album since February. The first, Hindsight, is a jazz-rock statement that fits neatly next to the latest Soft Machine recording. It is dramatic, politically inspired music, as Nilsson writes on her website:

Hindsight started as a reaction. November 9th, 2016. I was home alone, feeling confused and betrayed after the election. My whole world had changed overnight and my faith in humanity was crushed. As I do in times of turmoil in my life, I turned to my instrument. I remember experiencing this pit in my soul, like we all fucked up and everything was about to go dark.

Hindsight, born under these conditions, is excellent and something that I've returned to many times. So is the album For Human Beings recorded by her trio South by North East. With Bam Rodríguez on bass and Rodrigo Recabarren on percussion, the music is a fascinating contrast of registers. The 31-minute track 'Forward' begins with a slow, gentle layering of simple legato lines, which builds with focused tension to a point where Nilsson kicks on the distortion pedal and blows a gnarled melody over the intensifying bass and drums.

Ahh, but I should be talking about the holiday album. Sorry. Dark is Light is' opening track, 'När Juldagsmorgon Glimmar,' which translates to 'When Christmas Morning Sparkles', is upbeat and lilting, you may even be tempted to think that you hear 'Frosty the Snowman' in the melody. It also rocks. Aside from Nilsson's warm, round tone is guitarist Jeff McLaughlin whose own warm, round tone often spins out sinewy lines and well chosen chords.

'Sankta Lucia' is a great example of all the adjectives used in the previous paragraph. Another upbeat tune, the blend of McLaughlin's sound with Nilsson's is inviting and energizing. The melody is elliptical, and as you let your ears ride along, the celebration is tangible. McLaughlin's solos over an insistent electric bass lines from Alex Minier, and Cody Rahn's drum work brings the group to a rousing crescendo. The penultimate track, 'Julpolksa,' is another great example of a smart arrangement and the quartet's compatibility. The sweet folk song melody leads to an exploratory passage, and as the joyful tones get stretched out, light touches of dissonance hint at a hidden depth. Then, it begins to wind tighter and faster. After Nilsson drops out, McLaughlin delivers a spacious and beautifully paced solo over the solid accompaniment.

Dark is Light is is a holiday album for a holiday that you may not even knew you needed. It comes at a real solstice ... things indeed got dark and the coming days hopefully will again be getting lighter. 

Also check out the other albums mentioned:

Read More

Mars Williams Presents An Ayler Xmas Vol. 4: Chicago vs. NYC (Astral Spirits / Soul What, 2020) ****½

By Paul Acquaro

Last year when I reviewed Mars Williams An Ayler Xmas Vol 3, I wrote that I was hoping that this would continue to be an annual event - a new collection of Ayler/Holiday mashups to counteract the deadly ear-poison of 'All I Want for Christmas (is you)'. I also secretly wondered how Williams could keep finding new inspiration with the theme. Now, knowing the answer to both and I'm pleased to report that there is nothing to be worried about. 

One thing that keeps this idea interesting is the ever changing set of musicians joining Williams on the stage. Last year there was a collection of tunes recorded in Krakow, featuring a collection of New York and European mmusicians. The year prior it was a selection from a group in the U.S. and a group from Europe featuring musicians from each continent exclusively. This year, we have Chicago vs. New York. Some new faces join the old in Chicago, and features, along with Williams on sax and toy instruments, Josh Berman on cornet, Jim Baker on piano, viola, and Arp synth, Kent Kessler on bass, Brian Sandstrom on bass, guitar, and trumpet, and Steve Hunt on drums. Rounding out the band (even further on some tracks) in Chicago is Peter Maunu on Violin, Katinka Kleijn on cello, and Keefe Jackson on baritone sax. In New York, Williams is joined by Steve Swell on Trombone, Hilliard Greene on bass, Chris Corsano on drums, Nels Cline on guitar, and Fred Lonberg-holm on cello.

Another thing that makes this yearly (fingers crossed) installment exciting is the evolving repertoire. No, I did not go back to see which songs have been on which album and in what order, that's for someone more OCD than me to do, but I have a simple explanation: it just hardly matters. The combinations change, the interpretations range from wild (see 'Did You Hear They Found Light in Darkness Looking for Chestnuts' from Chicago) to sublime (on 'The Hanukah-xmas March of Truth for 12 Days of Jingling Bells With Spirits' from the Chicago band, there is a beautiful solo piano section from Baker which then gets poked at by Berman's cornet) and often in the same track, like the 28 minute rendition of 'The Hanukah-xmas March of Truth for 12 Days of Jingling Bells With Spirits' from NYC, where the regal melody is lightly shadowed by Cline's wavering electric guitar for a little bit before it takes everything quickly Downtown.

Of course my question is what's next? The recordings so far have drawn from touring, live situations where the audience and band have made for ever changing experiences. However, this year because of the pandemic there was no tour (though there was a live streamed concert). One may be tempted to think, following current patterns, Vol 5 could very well be a Mars Williams solo Ayler Xmas release. Who knows! 

A few notes: the vinyl version is built around contrast - it contains contains only tracks 3 & 6, which is the same medley from the Chicago and NYC groups respectively. The vinyl version does come with a download of everything. The NYC recording is also dedicated to Eric Stern, a friend and contributor to the blog, at whose concert series the NYC recording was made. 

Read More