Esthesis Quartet: Esthesis Quartet
Orenda Records

Elsa Nilsson: Coast Redwoods 41°32'09.8”N 124°04'35.5”W
ears&eyes Records

While the default template for woodwind jazz quartet is, of course, saxophone, piano, bass, and drums, a refreshing alternative is proposed by flutist Elsa Nilsson, whether it be through Esthesis Quartet or the trio model featured on her Coast Redwoods 41°32'09.8”N 124°04'35.5”W. As shown by these projects and her self-led band with guitarist Jeff McLaughlin, bassist Alex Minier, and drummer Cody Rahn, Nilsson's an ever-adventurous player doing her part to further promote flute as a lead instrument in jazz. Originally from Gothenburg, Sweden and currently residing in Brooklyn, she's joined by three other geographically displaced artists in Esthesis Quartet: pianist Dawn Clement, acoustic bassist Emma Dayhuff, and drummer Tina Raymond, who hail from Denver, Chicago, and Los Angeles, respectively.

The group takes its name from a word meaning “elementary sensations of touch,” a deliberate reference to the absence of interpersonal interaction imposed by the pandemic. The band originated as a creative support group, but after many Zoom sessions and the feeling that gathering could be done safely they convened in a Los Angeles studio to record their debut. While the lead melodic role generally falls to Nilsson, Esthesis Quartet is very much a band of equals. All contribute compositions, and each is integral to the group identity. Adding to the recording's appeal, vocals by Clement appear on two of the six pieces, and the material reflects a diverse range of moods and styles. A sense of life's stages is conveyed by the recording when it begins with a piece titled after a pre-born child and ends with one Nilsson wrote after the funeral of her father.

Clement's “Cricket” (the nickname given her daughter Della when she moved constantly in the womb) inaugurates the album in free-bop mode, with all four musicians digging into the swinging pulse and engaging head. As if designed to accentuate the importance of all the players, the first solo goes to Dayhuff and then Nilsson, who blazes an effects-laden trail, and finally Raymond, whose soloing's both dynamic and precise. The bassist's modal-like “Two Moons” entrances with a slow, bluesy flow and benefits from Clement's soulful solo and a thoughtful statement by Dayhuff. The pianist's breathy voice elevates the delicate ballad “Partial,” her soft utterances beautifully complemented by her partners and shadowed by Nilsson's tremulous flute. Her “We Watch It All Burn,” its title a reference to the seeming indifference with which the increasing number of wildfires around the planet is met, blossoms from a lightly swinging opening into a more mystery-laden post-bop excursion. Raymond's “The Gardener” expresses a similar focus on the natural world, this one about its restorative benefits. In contrast to the intense drive of “Cricket,” “The Gardener” is contemplative and attuned to textural interplay, with Raymond wielding brushes and the others musing ruminatively. At album's end, Nilsson's touching “Finding What's Lost” augments her flute with wordless vocalizing to cap the release on a life-affirming note.

The rapport the four share is vividly captured on the set and is particularly strong for a debut outing. All of the musicians distinguish themselves and enhance the group identity, and the six performances are vibrant, energized, and powerful. Given the sterling evidence at hand, Esthesis Quartet is a project the four should definitely keep alive, pandemic or not.

That Nilsson's Coast Redwoods41°32'09.8”N 124°04'35.5”W is a significantly different project from the other one testifies to her broad range of interests. There is, however, a connection between them when the concern for the natural world captured in “We Watch It All Burn” is expanded into a full album statement for the trio set. Featuring Nilsson, Jon Cowherd on piano, and Chris Morrissey on bass, the ten-movement suite is the first release in a projected Atlas of Sound series that aims to explore the human connection to specific places in the natural world. As its title suggests, the release originated from improvisations of Nilsson playing at two locations in the Redwood forests of Northern California, with a month separating the summer 2019 recordings. During lockdown, she transformed the improvs, one set from a beach at the north end of Redwood National Park and the other at a giant hollow tree in the Grove of Old Trees, into a formalized suite the trio recorded at the Brooklyn studio Big Orange Sheep.

Her immersion into the settings has resulted in music of quiet grandeur, and the impression produced by the music is of nature speaking through an artist attuned to its spirit. The music encourages the listener to slow down and absorb the evocations of wind blowing through trees, leaves rustling, and the feeling of pine needles crunching underfoot. The result is probing music of genuine character elevated by the close listening of its creators. While flute is at the forefront, the performances play like intense dialogues with each contributor wholly engaged and responsive. Nilsson's playing is marked by passion, as is that of her partners.

The track titles “Sunshift Haze,” “Catching Droplets,” and “Old Growth” suggest visual correlates to the music; in the latter, for instance, the trio's performance conveys a humble reverence in keeping with the towering majesty of the tree the title's presumably referencing. There's variety too: while some pieces are contemplative (see “Coralie”), swinging ones such as “The Ground is Its Own,”“Epicormic,” and “Fairy Rings” nod in jazz's direction (check out Cowherd's rousing solo turn on the blues-boppish latter).

While Nilsson is very much aware of climate change's impact on the natural world, her focus isn't so much on the political (though it is implied) but rather the intimate connection each of us can experience when immersion brings about spiritual and physical replenishment. On a final note, multiple editions of the project have been made available, from the straight download to a package pairing a t-shirt with the download plus another augmenting the music with a handcrafted field atlas featuring poetry, artwork, and background detail.

May 2022