Signe Emmeluth, Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard & Dag Erik Kendal Andersen - The A-Z of Microwave Cookery (2022) [Hi-Res]

Signe Emmeluth - Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard - Double Bass
Dag Erik Knedal Andersen - Drums, Percussion

«The A-Z of Microwave Cookery» is the powerful debut album of a new young, free jazz trio – Danish sax player Signe Emmeluth, leader of the Emmeluth Amoeba, co-leader of the duo Owl and member of Andreas Røysum Ensemble, together with Norwegian double bass player Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard of Monkey Plot and Ich Bin N!ntendo, and drummer Dag Erik Knedal Andersen of Akode (with British sax player Alan Wilkinson), who most recently joined Cortex. The trio recorded its album in the old farmhouse Flerbruket in December 2020 and it is released as a limited edition cassette of 175 copies plus a download option.

The trio sounds like a tight unit, with its own independent identity already on its opening piece «Artichoke and Prawn Starter». Emmeluth sings a loose melody over the percolating rhythm section of Skavhaug Nergaard and Kendal Andersen. The dynamics become more intense and fiery on «Boiling Water», «Drying Flowers» and «Amazing Fudge» and the massive, uncompromising work of Skavhaug Nergaard and Kendal Andersen brings to mind fond memories of the rhythm section of the now-defunct The Thing (with bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love) and both Skavhaug Nergaard and Kendal Andersen keep pushing Emmeluth’s sax flights higher and higher. Emmeluth articulates immediate and intuitive melodic veins, with a clear sound of her own, that sit perfectly on the free pulse of Skavhaug Nergaard and Kendal Andersen.

But this trio does not subscribe to the conventional, high-energy dynamics of free jazz. «Shortcut Clam Chowder» revolves around patient and sparse sonic searches. The 18-minute, slow-cooking «Glitter (edible)» captures best the essence of this promising trio. This piece bursts with arresting ideas and sounds, highlighting the rich vocabularies of all three musicians and the risk-taking approach of the trio, as the trio builds patiently and methodically its layered and carefully nuanced rhythmic interplay.

Tracklist:
1 01. Signe Emmeluth, Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard & Dag Erik Kendal Andersen - Artichoke and Prawn Starter (06:11)
1 02. Signe Emmeluth, Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard & Dag Erik Kendal Andersen - Boiling Water (04:39)
1 03. Signe Emmeluth, Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard & Dag Erik Kendal Andersen - Shortcut Clam Chowder (06:27)
1 04. Signe Emmeluth, Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard & Dag Erik Kendal Andersen - Drying Flowers (07:11)
1 05. Signe Emmeluth, Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard & Dag Erik Kendal Andersen - Amazing Fudge (03:27)
1 06. Signe Emmeluth, Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard & Dag Erik Kendal Andersen - Glitter (edible) (17:55)