Anders Lønne Grønseth: Multiverse
Pling Music

Many an artist's path involves advancing from an established playing style to ones of a less conventional kind. With Multiverse, Anders Lønne Grønseth would appear to be going in the opposite direction, the Norwegian saxophonist having earlier infused the jazz-oriented material performed by his chamber group Mini Macro Ensemble and the raga-jazz outfit Bhattacharya/Grønseth/Wessel with the influence of Indian music as well as Western classical. Appearances are, as ever, deceiving: with its classic quintet lineup and improvisation emphasis, Multiverse does signify a return to Grønseth's jazz roots, but traces of Indian, Arabic, and classical music traditions remain, just expressed less overtly. Multiverse, by the way, is both the title of the band's debut and the name of the group, whose second album is already scheduled to appear in spring 2019.

On paper, the all-acoustic quintet looks traditional enough: Grønseth on tenor and soprano saxophones and bass clarinet joined by trumpeter Hayden Powell, pianist Espen Berg, bassist Audun Ellingsen, and drummer Einar Scheving. Participating in group projects of various kinds (Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Wolf Valley, Magic Pocket, Audun Automat), all five bring ample experience to the shared endeavour. While Grønseth's credited as the composer of the six pieces, the others aren't merely reading notated charts; instead, they're co-creators in the sense that the leader's compositions operate as frameworks out of which the material develops. Guidelines are in place for each piece, yet matters of tempo and rhythm are determined in-the-moment as opposed to determined beforehand. Multiverse is, in short, ultimately about intuitive group interplay and responsiveness as much as anything else.

Even with a pianist included, the playing exemplifies a suspended, weightless quality, as if a grounding key has been rejected as a center and the conventions of major and minor keys set aside (the cover image of a bird flying high above the earth is no accident, one guesses). That feeling's attributable to the free-styled playing of the musicians but also because much of the album's rooted in Grønseth's Bitonal Scales, the self-developed tonality system used on the earlier albums, too. But Multiverse, much like its predecessors, never feels like an academic exercise, even if “Holographic,” for example, uses one of Olivier Messiaen's Modes of Limited Transpositions as its starting-point or others are structured contrapuntally around multiple melodic lines (the intricate “Möbiusstrimmel” deploys no less than four). Instead, the music flows relaxedly, adjusting its shape according to the players' wishes.

One of the album's primary pleasures derives from the musicians' playing, with all distinguishing themselves but Grønseth in particular. He's more audible in this context than in the Mini Macro Ensemble, and consequently one acquires a renewed appreciation for his prowess as an improvising saxophonist and bass clarinetist. Berg and Powell are exemplary, both stepping up repeatedly with memorable solos and support, and Ellingsen and Scheving are ever-responsive participants.

The leader's silky tenor extemporizations on “Parallelism” complement the restrained, ballad-styled tone of the setting, which is distinguished by a wistful thematic statement. At eleven minutes, the piece also affords an excellent opportunity to monitor the interactive methodology at work. Midway through, for example, the band reduces to a piano trio that sees the bassist and drummer not merely backing Berg but responding attentively to the trajectory of his solo. When the sax and trumpet return, the material moves into a rubato episode before a restatement of the theme concludes the performance on a satisfying symmetrical note. Powell then invests “Accelerated Expansion” with a haunting, blues-inflected performance, the trumpeter nicely paired with the leader's soprano on this explorative meditation, arguably the album track where Eastern influences are most discernible.

October 2018