Nils Janson - Excavation (2010)

Tracklist

01. Öjaren
02. Indie Love
03. Stealth
04. Cave In
05. Apollo
06. Cool Daddy Groove
07. Västermalm
08. Tell Me

Let’s be honest. Doesn’t some jazz albums sound like just another day at the office? Where musicians – instead of wanting to make a real impact – seem happy just fiddling about in their slippers, comfortable in well-polished craftmanship. Trumpeter Nils Janson’s second album is nothing like that. This is literally an excavation – outwards, inwards, upwards, downwards. Collaborations with rockers Mando Diao, punk/ska phenomenon Hoffmaestro & Chraa, and salsa greats Calle Real, has enriched his contemporary, fundamentally jazz oriented expression. If Debut (2008) was dark and at times relentless, the follow-up is brighter, happier and infectiously swinging. We travel from Brad Mehldau’s New York, to Sweden’s desolate North. From Stockholm to Havana. Nothing is a given. Thick complex voicings meet simple triad chords. Flying rhythmical carpets hover over our heads, changing shapes, before getting chopped to shreds. The classic jazz quartet, enhanced with congas and glockenspiel, create music that is as accessible as it is intricate. The group’s uncompromising eagerness to communicate fills every single improvisation with infectious energy and imagination. No stone is left unturned. And instead of worrying about a little dirt, they roll up their sleeves and get up on their toes. To see farther. And to be recognized from a greater distance.

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