Joel and the Neverending Sextet - Marbled (2024) [Hi-Res]

Joel and the Neverending Sextet, led by cellist Joel Ring and consisting of a cohesive group of musicians from Sweden and Norway, takes the listeners on a musical journey through the borderlands of avant-garde jazz. Following their critically acclaimed debut album "Pouring Textures" (2021), the sextet is now releasing their second album, "Marbled," on Motvind Records.

The title Marbled evokes associations with flowing structures. Listening to the album, we find ourselves caught in an intricate web of musical patterns. This theme is a continuation from the debut album. Is it an analogy to the repetitive patterns we experience in our daily lives? Or another affirmation of nature’s own strange symmetry? The music can feel like a soundtrack to a fever dream, a breathless scene from a detective movie, or perhaps a combination of the two.

The music consists of both notated material and thematic free improvisation, which together reflect the ideas, intentions, and vision behind Ring’s compositions. Through exploring the transformative power of unfiltered expression, repetitive motifs, and spontaneous improvisations, Joel Ring aims to create music that is alive and fearless. The building blocks of the music consist of cool melodies, free jazz, polyrhythms, precise orchestration, and impulsivity, artfully stacked to create pulsating, texture-rich waves. These waves can be both rigid and soft, with rhythms and grooves intertwined to form multiple layers of sonic enjoyment.

The sextet draws concrete inspiration from a diverse array of sources, including musical pioneers like Henry Threadgill, Mary Halvorson, James Brandon Lewis, Arthur Blythe, Tomeka Reid, Andrew Hill, and Abdul Wadud.

This album was recorded with quality and skill at all levels at Athletic Sound in Halden, and the result is a tonal gem with a rawness and energy as cool as gangster rap. Without becoming overly nostalgic, this band gives us a sense of traveling in a time machine, back to the days when jazz was playful and gutsy.

This is a great band. Tubaist Heida Mobeck provides a rich and solid base, and we wonder why there isn’t more tuba to be heard in jazz these days. With the two drummers Anton Jonsson and Bror Tomas Sandström, the sextet has a percussive foundation that both keeps the swing going and often creates floating forms. Saxophonist Kalle Nyberg is in top form with sparkling solos and a rock-hard tone. Milton Öhrström flutters over the keys and the boss himself, Ring, steers the ship with steady strokes.

Peter Bornemar in Lira wrote about the previous release: "Even though I sometimes get associations with Ronald Shannon Jackson and Henry Threadgill, the album carries an exciting unpredictability and undeniable originality."

We believe this album takes the sextet up several notches in the jazz band league and hope they get to play this music on many stages around the world.

Personnel: Joel Ring – cello; Karl Hjalmar Nyberg - tenor saxophone and clarinet; Milton Öhrström – piano; Heida Karine Johannesdottir Mobeck – tuba; Brother Tomas Sandström – drums; Anton Jonsson – drums.

Tracklist:
1-1. Joel and the Neverending Sextet - Stone, stone and some gems (05:17)
1-2. Joel and the Neverending Sextet - 16 shining pieces (02:37)
1-3. Joel and the Neverending Sextet - Marbles (04:59)
1-4. Joel and the Neverending Sextet - Clouds upon clouds (02:59)
1-5. Joel and the Neverending Sextet - Silver and soft (02:18)
1-6. Joel and the Neverending Sextet - Swirling (04:53)
1-7. Joel and the Neverending Sextet - Purple impressions (04:18)
1-8. Joel and the Neverending Sextet - Weave (03:41)
1-9. Joel and the Neverending Sextet - Sunny lake placid blue (04:51)