Reflective

Khmer Live in Bergan (Nils Petter Molvær)

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Nearly 30 years have passed since ECM released Nils Petter Molvær’s popular ‘Khmer’ album.  It was a departure from the ECM fare of the day, and not without risk, but it found a receptive audience and sold like hot cakes. NPM (Molvær) laid down a new direction for Jazz, and the 1990s saw a subsequent rise of ambient-leaning improvised music (a genre variously labelled as Jazz acoustic/electronica, future jazz, Nu jazz, etc). It has exerted an increasingly pervasive influence on other Jazz forms over time.  

Since the release of ‘Khmer’, NPM has released dozens of albums, and his status on the European jazz scene is unimpeachable. Many of his albums, such as the original ‘Khmer’, were studio-recorded, but, superb as those albums are, this music thrives on live performance. It is mostly danceable, and the club lighting and pulsating audience create a feedback loop, intensifying the atmosphere. In ‘Khmer Live in Bergen’, you can sense that added energy. 

There is an unmistakable filmic quality to this mood-dominant music, conjuring up imaginary worlds that linger on the outer edge of reality. The listener is invited on a journey, and a narrative unfolds, but it remains elusive. Unless you immerse yourself. The song titles hint at a narrative, but the ebb and flow of the music fleshes it out. Ambient-leaning music always exalts mood over the strictures of form. 

Song of Sand

Despite the title, this is not an exact recreation of the original ‘Khmer’ album. There is no ‘Khmer’ track, for instance, but there are four tracks from the original. As much as a fresh take on the title track might have appealed, the inclusion of ‘Song of Sand’ more than makes up for it. If ever a track evokes powerful dreamscapes, it is this. A distant pulse is heard, soft at first, followed by muffled voices – then the trumpet as the music becomes more immediate, the sound of a caravan navigating its way through dunes, perhaps – each step evenly paced, as it advances over the vast sand-blown landscape. Five of the tracks have appeared on other albums. Of those, I particularly liked ‘Vilderness’, with its Jon Hassell-like resonance, punchy basslines and soaring multiphonic interludes. 

This is an ensemble in the truest sense, and in many ways, a traditional offering in fresh raiment. Everything you hear, including the samples, is created in real time. This is a collective improvisation that moves freely inside a flexible form. Sculpting sound in this way requires many deft hands. Four of the musicians played on the original ‘Khmer’ album: Molvær, Jan Bang, Eivind Aarset and Rune Arnesen. The full ensemble: Nils Petter Molvær (trumpet), Eivind Aarset (guitar & electronics), Jan Bang (live sampling), Pål “Strangefruit” Nyhus (DJ, MPC, programming), Audun Erlien (bass), Per Lindvall (drums), Rune Arnesen (drums, percussion). 

It is on Edition Records and will be released on August 5, 2025. You can pre-order from Bandcamp now.  

JazzLocal32.com was rated as one of the 50 best Jazz Blogs in the world by Feedspot. The author is a professional member of the Jazz Journalists Association, a Judge in the 7VJC International Jazz Competition, and a poet & writer. Some of these posts appear on other sites with the author’s permission.

Poetry Legroom (Zoo Too Trio)

/ JazzLocal32.com

A few months ago, an album was recorded in New York that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on. The pre-release featured several tasty tracks, and its evocative cover image also intrigued. The stars were aligned for a significant album, and so it was. How could it miss with pianist Michael Cain, guitarist Keith Price and drummer Pheeroan akLaff? 

It is one of those albums that jazz lovers, whatever their taste, are bound to enjoy. The cover art was prophetic, as its soft golden light and evocative silhouette figures characterised the music perfectly. It is an album to be played through, then played again, and each listening will delight. There’s a sense of place (or should I say places) evident, as the titles reference far-flung locations, but the most important maps traversed are those engraved on the human heart.  

‘O’Neil’s Bay’ (Price) is lovely – a bluesy Americana-fused number. The bay in question is familiar to me, nestled against New Zealand’s forest-clad Waitākere Ranges–a hidden bay accessible only on foot. Price lives nearby and has captured the mystical essence of that wild, unspoiled coastline, keyboards, guitar and drums painting with sound.  

Another track has the intriguing title ‘Poetry Legroom Okinawa Children’ (akLaff). It unfolds like a miniature suite, adding layer upon layer.  Cain’s keyboards arpeggiate over Price’s shimmering chords; the mesmerising drums adding to the feeling of suspension. Like every track that unfolds, you sink inside, holding the moods carefully so as not to spoil the moment.  

With ‘Solodos’ (Cain), you understand why Cain is such a well-regarded pianist. The history and the wonder of his music are encapsulated there.  

In an album of gems, ‘Waxing Gibbous’ (Cain/Price) is the kicker. Underneath the tune’s languid minimalism, endless aural vistas unfold, displacing time and space into the eternal now. Never has spoken-word poetry been so carefully encapsulated, and the open-hearted colourist drumming of akLaff astounds. 

All three musicians have written tunes for the album, and while their approaches differ, they drink from the same creative well. There are no burners, although a quiet intensity is evident as the meditative moods draw the listener into beguiling atmospheric worlds. We live in an era of madness, and albums like this are exactly what we need to assuage our battered senses.  Shifting Paradigm Records Bandcamp and streamers.

JazzLocal32.com was rated as one of the 50 best Jazz Blogs in the world by Feedspot. The author is a professional member of the Jazz Journalists Association, a Judge in the 7VJC International Jazz Competition, and a poet & writer. Some of these posts appear on other sites with the author’s permission.