Jonas Kullhammar, Espen Aalberg, Torbjorn Zetterberg & Jorgen Mathisen - Basement Sessions, Vol. 3 (2014)

Recorded in 2013, Jonas Kullhammar's "Basement Sessions volume 3: The Ljubljana Tapes" is a live concert, featuring Kullhammar, Jorgen Mathisen on tenor, Torbjorn Zettberg on bass, and Espen Aalberg on drums.
"Basement," composed by Mathisen, is a high energy track that gets everyone hitting on all cylinders, Aalberg and Zettberg providing a solid, toe tapping hard bop rhythm, with Kullhammar and Mathisen synchronizing the lead. It is very spiritual, and evokes mid 60's Coltrane. "Allting kan ga itu" is a Kullhammar tune, very Dolphy esque, the saxophones going up and down the keys, before moving into a Zombies "Time of the Season" rhythm with saxes playfully on top of the beat. "Master of What" is a more contemplative, slightly somber tune by Zettberg, with the group establishing a theme, then Kullhammar or Mathisen alternating solos, each doing variations of the theme, then playing together. "Fresk Baglaens" is a funky hard bop tune, Zettberg providing a deep bottom with the bass, a sax keeping the rhythm while the other does a free improv solo. Toe tapping ear candy goodness, with a nice drum solo by Aalberg. "Rough 2" has that old Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers swagger, a medium tempo, low key swing that, once the theme is established, passes off to long stretching solos by each horn player, then back to the theme. Very old school, yet refreshing. The album ends with "Sekar Jepun," a low key mood piece that again evoke's Coltrane, spiritual yet somber.
Kullhammar's group has really taken the music from the past and made it contemporary, evoking, yet never imitating. Their own personal cultural heritage, as well as incorporating modern improvisation esthetics, have helped to create their own sound. One surprising thing about this album is how short it is -- less than 43 minutes. That may be a good thing. It does leave you wanting for more -- but that problem is solved by going back to the other two volumes in this series. Another fine effort by this group. (Stefan Wood, freejazzblog.org)At the third volume of its “Basement Sessions”, the Jonas Kullhammar / Torbjorn Zetterberg / Espen Aalberg trio brings a fourth element to the “mutated hardbop” concept they’ve been putting to practice: Jørgen Mathisen. The Norwegian tenor saxophonist is the perfect match to Kullhammar’s twin sax – he has a similar power drive and the same connection to the tenor jazz tradition (the one going through Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane) than the Swedish musician. Finding them together in this live recording at a very special session before the audience got in, for their appearance at the Ljubljana Jazz Festival is a joy for the ears. Side by side they improvise inside (and out) everyone’s compositions (plus a surprising rendition to Marilyn Mazur's Fresk Baglæns) and topping one of the most propulsive rhythmic sections in Europe today, provided by the always surprising Zetterberg and Aalberg. If you thought, by listening to Mathisen’s work with Shagma, The Core and Zanussi Five, he was a Kullhammar’s rival in the Scandinavian scene, think again: here they are in a collaborative set, never indulging in a “who blows more and play faster” combat. The music sounds old school, mixing references of the years when hardbop transitioned to free jazz, but make sure: what you find here isn’t a passive reproduction of the Fifties. A must. (Description)