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Duo jazz from the Norwegian scene – Klaus Ellerhusen Holm on alto sax and clarinet and Roger Arntzen on bass – modern avant gardism with an ear for the classics! The duo format works very well on this self titled set, with both spacious, delicate arrangements and some feverish intensity on readings of classic numbers by Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman and Jimmy Guiffre – and a few strong originals. Titles include "Sex Spy", "Out To Lunch", "Hat & Beard", "Rogg", "Emphasis", "Gazzelloni", "Weissbein", "Ball", "Straight Up And Down" and "Lorraine".

The core Ballrogg sound is a bit expanded here – still with bass from Roger Arntzen and reeds from Klaus Ellerhusen Holm – yet also including some guest guitar and laptop from Lars Myrvoll and violins from Ole Henrik Moe and Kari Ronnekleiv. The added instrumentation doesn't make for a larger feel overall – just a more complex vibe, musically – one that almost adds in some soundtrack elements to the improvisation between the two core players – light tones and colors that come across in really beautiful ways, even when Holm himself is trying to darken things through use of feedback! Titles include "NREM", "Woody Creek", "Sleepwalker", "Georgetown Suites", "Insomnia", and "Kampenhaug".

Positively pummeling material from Chrome Hill – a Norwegian quartet – avant garde jazz with a noisy angularity! It's somewhere between Brotzmann and the no wave scene – there's a cathartic squall going on through much of the material, heavy duty avant garde jazz for sure, but with more of a noise rock relatively thanks in no small part to the unique guitar work. Fierce tenor sax from Jorgen Munkeby, searing baritone guitar by Asbjorn Lerheim, and lumbering drums & bass by Torstein Lofthus and Roger Arntzen. Titles include "Zanshin! Zanshin!", "Wide Stripes". "Where Can I Go To Sleep Under The Stars?", "Swedish Snake", "Maelstrom", "Blue Dog, "A Fistful Of Dollars", "Blue Dog Returns" and "Earth".

A piano trio, but one with a very different feel than usual – almost inverted from the familiar form, with the drums or bass sometimes on top of the piano – making for a cool inside-out sort of sound! Things are never too far outside, but they're always pretty darn creative – almost a pomo take on trio styles, with some occasional sweeter elements that let the piano warm things up, while the percussion is rattling away in weird ways in the background – only to step forward in the lead again on the next track. The whole thing's incredibly evocative – a real tip of the hat to the creative energy of Jorn Oien on piano, Per Zanussi on bass, and Torstein Lofthus on drums and percussion. Titles include "Paradise Blind", "It Should Be Obvious", "Digging In The Dark", "Moment Of Truth", and "Send In The Clown".

A fresh reworking of Don Cherry's legendary Complete Communion album for Blue Note – played here by a trio of Norwegian players who are clearly inspired by the original! The lineup here is a bit different than the classic version – with Atle Nymo on tenor, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, and Hakon Mjaset Johansen on drums – all working in a mode that's kind of a lyrical extrapolation of Cherry's ideas – almost more poetic than Don's take on the music, but still handled with an equal degree of power. The shifting tones in Nymo's tenor are wonderful – and Flaten's bass is always appreciated in the open structure of a record like this. Titles include "And Now", "Complete Communion", "Golden Heart", "Remembrance", "Wind Sand & Stars", "Bishmallah", "Elephantasy", and "Our Feelings".

A brilliant reworking of the ideas of Wes Montgomery – taken into some really fresh territory by guitarist Havard Stubo, but in ways that still retain all the best sense of tone, color, and space that made Montgomery's music so great! The group here is a trio – with Daniel Franck on bass and Hakon Mjaset Johansen on drums – and their energy is nicely different from the straighter combo modes you might get on the usual Montgomery tribute – and also a nice change from some of Stubo's other work as well. Titles include "The Thumb", "SOS", "Twisted Blues", "So Do It", "Full House", "Four On Six", "Cariba", and "Renie".

Brilliant work from IPA – a Norwegian combo that grabs us right from the very first note of this set! There's a palpable sense of energy between the players – the kind of cohesion amidst individual expression that you'd find in Ornette Coleman's group from the early days – an aesthetic that has each part of the lineup standing out strongly on its own, yet working together as a whole with a wonderfully fresh sound! Rhythm is strongly at the core of most numbers – again, almost with an Ornette-inspired sound – but taken decades ahead in jazz expression – beautifully balancing free expression with a unified musical vision from players Atle Nymo on saxes, Magnus Broo on trumpet, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, and Hakon Mjaset Johansen on drums. Titles include "Ting", "Mossabacken", "Nr 2", "City", "Oslo", and "Lorena".

A rompingly groovy little group – one that's made even better by the presence of Jonas Kullhammar on tenor! The core trio here features organ, guitar, and drums – used in ways that have a sometimes funky, sometimes more complicated approach to rhythms – a bit like Medeski, Martin, & Wood at their best a decade or so ago. But the addition of Kullhammar's tenor really freshens up the sound and gives it a new direction – kind of a shifting platform of sound that serves both as a jumping pad for Jonas, and as space that can be moved around at will – into nicely blocky rhythms that almost stretch back to a legacy informed by Larry Young and Joe Henderson's work together. Titles include "Toe Cut Capri", "Snake City East", "John Dear", "The Rise & Fall Of Sour T", "Mr Souvlaki", "Apoka", "Synergy B", and "Slow Fox".

Guitarist Havard Stubo is one of the freshest talents working in the contemporary Scandinavian scene – and that's saying a lot, given the great company he's had on some of his recent releases! This date has a great balance between free ideas and straight ahead swing – a groove that's overflowing with fresh new ideas in jazz – not the kind of overindulgent moments you might find in a too avant release, but some really well put-together rhythms and instrumental combinations that burst out right away with an immediate appeal, even to anyone new to the music of Stubo and his associates. Other players here include Knut Riisnaes on tenor, Torbjorn Zetterberg on bass, and Hakon Mjaset Johansen on drums – and as usual for a session like this, Zetterberg's playing really holds things together wonderfully. Titles include "Kenoot's Blues", "Ping Pong", "Kivran", "Lucky Loser", "Epilog Ett Ar For Sent", and "Way Up".