Bobo Stenson Trio: Sphere

by Karl Nehring

Per Nørgård: You Shall Plant a Tree; Anders Jormin: Unquestioned Answer – Charles Ives in Memoriam; Sven-Erik Bäck: Spring; Jormin: Kingdom of Coldness; Bäck: Communion Psalm; Jung-Hee Woo: The Red Flower; Alfred Janson: Ky and Beautiful Madame Ky; Sibelius: Valsette op. 40/1; Nørgård: You Shall Plant a Tree (var.). Bobo Stenson, piano; Anders Jormin, double bass; Jon Fält, drums. ECM 2775 487 3808

The Swedish pianist Bobo Stenson (b. 1944) is probably unfamiliar to most classical music fans, but perhaps this latest album, which features a generous dollop of music by classical composers, will pique some interest, at least among classical fans who also have an interest in other forms of music – as I hope most who follow this blog do. There is a brief YouTube video in which you can learn a bit more about the genesis of this album and some of the musical influences behind it (that video can be found here). As you may have guessed from the instrumentation of his trio, Bobo Stenson is a jazz pianist who leads a jazz trio. After establishing a reputation in Europe, he then gained attention in the USA as he joined saxophonist Charles Lloyd’s quartet in 1988 and then played piano on Lloyd’s first five albums for ECM: Fish Out of Water (1989), Notes from Big Sur (1991), The Call (1993), All My Relations (ECM, 1994), and Canto (1996), all of which are simply sublime. However, if you take the time to watch the video, you will discover that these musicians hold classical music in high regard. Their previous ECM release, Contra la Indecisión (2018), included music by the classical composers Bartók, Satie, and Mompou.

On this new release, they open and close the album with a piece by the Swedish composer Per Nørgård (b. 1932) titled You Shall Plant a Tree. This is fascinating music – there is a melody here, but the three musicians are also freely exploring. I had commented on a boxed set of Nørgård’s eight symphonies in a brief commentary you can find here; listening to the trio play his music made me think of his symphonies and their fascinating sound world. The trio’s bassist, Anders Jormin, contributes a couple of pieces, one of them (Unquestioned Answer – Charles Ives in Memoriam) inspired by Charles Ives, with a similar feeling of ambiguity; the other (Kingdom of Coldness) tending into more familiar jazz territory. Even more of a familiar type of jazz tune is Jung-Hee Woo’s The Red Flower, which swings gently along. Sven-Erik Bäck (1919-1994) was a Swedish classical composer. His Communion Psalm is an expressive piece that communicates a sense of reverence and ritual. From the late Norwegian pianist and composer Alfred Janson (1937-2019) comes Ky and Beautiful Madame Ky, restless and percussive. And then there is the Sibelius, his brief original piece for solo piano here stretched out by the trio more than five times its original length, improvised, given a whole new meaning and feeling. Beautiful recorded sound, but it would have been so nice to have liner notes. Still, a highly recommendable release for both jazz and classical fans.