Thomas Torstrup, Martin Högberg & John Pål Inderberg: Patos
Øra Fonogram
It's safe to say no trio sounds quite like the one featuring church organist Thomas Torstrup, guitarist Martin Högberg, and saxophonist John Pål Inderberg. Admittedly, that's due in part to the instrumentation involved, but it's also because the music the three present on Patos, the trio's second album, is so distinctive. Its ten performances possess immense appeal when the players' interactions are so empathetic. The project wasn't born in a single moment, by the way: a dozen years ago, Torstrup and Högberg united to explore what might result from the combination of electric guitar and church organ; it was only in 2017 when they were preparing to record their debut album, Selbu Sessions, that they recruited Inderberg to make the project a trio. There's arguably a fourth member involved too—the recording location, the Sakshaug church in Trøndelag, Norway. The reverberance of the setting allows the music they recorded in December 2020 to breathe expansively and with striking clarity.
The title track sets a lovely scene for the album. Mellifluous guitar figures appear first, with Högberg's delicate phrasing enhanced by the resonance of the church environment, after which the others join him, Inderberg explorative on soprano and Torstrup filling the space with ambient colour and low-register chords. Interactions advance apace as the performance oscillates between a formally structured plan and improv-driven expressions. A stately classical-styled intro to “Way Out” leads into a guitar-and-organ dialogue with Högberg distinguishing the material with descending flourishes and Torstrup amplifying the music's surprisingly bluesy character. Whereas the trio moves into jazzier territory for “Skyggedans” when guitar provides a swinging backdrop for the pied piper-like call of the soprano sax, “Preludium i C” sees the three operating within a classical-tinged space.
Brooding chords by Torstrup lend “Catchy Framework” a portentous tone during its opening sequence before Inderberg joins in for a stately turn that calls to mind something Jan Garbarek might have contributed to one of his own releases. Such a poetic reflection suggests Patos could have been an ECM release as much as one on Øra Fonogram. “Frem og Att,” on the other hand, is playful and macabre, so much so it could pass for new soundtrack material to Murnau's Nosferatu. It's certainly easy enough to visualize Count Orlok scampering through city streets at night as the impish music plays.
Patos is the kind of recording that transcends definition and is no less likeable for doing so. Certainly jazz is in the mix, but so too are folk, blues, classical, and even, if subtly, prog. There's a relaxed feel to the performances too, though relaxed here doesn't mean directionless and lethargic. Think of it as a document of three attuned collaborators at ease with themselves, each other, and the collective lyrical expression that emerges when their individual energies converge.April 2022