PAOLO VINACCIA ARILD ANDERSEN TOMMY SMITH

The HERALD, Rob Adams, Dec 5th, 2008 Andersen.Smith.Vinaccia, The Lot, Edinburgh Star rating: ****

Louis Armstrong's assertion that jazz is folk music gets much support in this trio. Themes from the Scottish, Middle Eastern and Scandinavian traditions suggest themselves, form the glue that binds various movements and inspire the high-level solo improvisation and quick-witted intercommunication that make it one of the most revered groups working in Europe.

If this gig didn't have the visceral excitement produced when bassist Arild Andersen and saxophonist Tommy Smith drafted in Scots drummer Alyn Cosker for the absent Paolo Vinaccia at this year's Edinburgh Jazz Festival, it did show how much more deeply the cast has grown into the script, even since they recorded their excellent album, Live at Belleville. It's all about masters at work: Andersen creating big, warm structures through real-time double tracking and his fingers scampering gleefully over the strings; Smith variously understated, magisterial and venomous; and Vinaccia a brilliantly responsive, subtly propulsive livewire whose dynamic range enhances quiet atmosphere and charging tempo alike.

Familiar though they are with this material, there's a real sense of enjoyment and of creating it anew every time. Smith's Prelude to a Kiss, with its questing intro and soulful, downward slides, was a gorgeous re-reading of Ellington's melody and the encore of Andersen's beautifully gliding, ethereal Dreamhorse would, alone, make the final dates of this Scottish Arts Council Tune-up tour in Glasgow and Lanark this weekend unmissable. The SCOTSMAN Gig review: Arild Andersen, Paolo Vinaccia, Tommy Smith KENNY MATHIESON Published Date: 05 December 2008 ARILD ANDERSEN, PAOLO VINACCIA, TOMMY SMITH THE LOT, EDINBURGH THIS stellar European trio served up a memorable performance for a full house. The shimmering bass harmonics that open Arild Andersen's Independency launched a gripping and unbroken performance of the four-part suite that ebbed and flowed in compelling fashion. If the concert lacked the final edge of one-off adrenaline-pumping energy that fuelled Andersen and Smith's Edinburgh Jazz Festival performance with deputising drummer Alyn Cosker at The Hub back in August, the level of musical engagement, responsive interaction and subtly co-ordinated dynamics never faltered. It was a sustained display of high-level musicianship in which Andersen took the acoustic bass (plus some additional electronics) into territory that remains inaccessible to most players, while Smith demonstrated once again that he is a saxophonist of world-class standing in any company. His flow of musical invention combined with a rich, lustrous sonority on tenor saxophone to dramatic effect. Vinaccia's probing drumming played a full part in the three-way musical conversation. They opened the second set with a determined but unsuccessful attempt to find the music for a new tune by Smith with a distinctly Scottish melodic feel that they were playing for the first time – but then played it anyway. Duke Ellington's Prelude to a Kiss nodded to the standard jazz repertoire, the fierce Outhouse allowed them to pump up both the tempo and the heat, and Andersen's Dreamhorse provided a limpid, hauntingly beautiful encore. They play Glasgow RSAMD tomorrow and Greyfriars Parish Church, Lanark, on Sunday.

Moment's Notice

Recent CDs Briefly Reviewed (continued)

Arild Andersen Live At Belleville ECM 2078

The great Norwegian bassist is capable of almost anything, as his ambitious Hyperborean, and his Electra for the Athens Olympics both demonstrated, but he always seems at his best in a trio context. One thinks of Triptykon with Jan Garbarek and Edward Vesala a quarter of a century ago and now surely a modern classic, or more recently The Triangle with Vassilis Tsabropoulos and John Marshall, or, away from ECM, the searching Hues with Sam Rivers and Barry Altschul on Impulse! These records propose a very different Andersen from the gentle watercolorist all ‘ECM artists’ are presumed to be, or even the avuncular bandleader and mentor of Masqualero twenty five years ago. The bass playing is firm and well-founded, closer to Wilbur Ware than to Eberhard Weber, with a clear line on every piece and no gestural wastage.

This new trio teams Andersen with Italian percussionist and composer Paolo Vinaccia and with Scottish tenor saxophonist Tommy Smith, who having concentrated largely on his own groups and his own Spartacus imprint now once again seems willing to bring his distinctive voice to other leaders’ situations. Smith is at the height of his powers. There are few saxophonists of any age capable of what he does on “Prelude To A Kiss,” which manages to sound lyrical and iron-hard, free and logically watertight. For years he struggled under an inevitable comparison with Jan Garbarek. One has to pick one’s Garbarek sets carefully – though Triptykon would certainly be one – to make the parallel or the influence work. These days, Smith sounds like no one but himself, a supremely confident artist working in the company of his peers.

The four-part “Independency” suite which dominates this live set from Oslo ’s Belleville club was written to mark the centenary of Norway ’s peaceful political secession from Sweden . Norway ’s newness as a sovereign country does still resonate through the work of its artists, and critical responses that equate “Nordic” with something atavistic, chthonic or rigorously traditional miss that point entirely. “Independency,” which seems to reference the anthem, Ole Bull, folk song and other national references, including a passage by Andersen which evokes the hardfele or Hardanger fiddle, is an affirmative work that doesn’t lack for ambiguity. Strategically and culturally, Norway has never considered itself to be on the fringes of continental Europe, but at a particular nexus of east and west, north and south, and in Andersen’s piece one hears him stretching the stylistic geography of the music to a remarkable degree. In this, Vinaccia is a willing accomplice, his polystylistic approach and background brought to the fore on almost every track. Smith to some extent has the easiest job: stand at the front and improvise. However, he’s also in listening mode here, highly responsive to the players on either side of him, brokering translations and compromises, asserting himself when space allows (as on the Ellington piece), working high up in his instrument’s stratosphere much of the time but with such ideal control you wonder at it. As you do at the whole record: a contemporary masterwork. –Brian Morton

Live at Belleville ALLABOUTJAZZ.COM

Arild Andersen | ECM Records (2008) By John Kelman Discuss The general international perception of Norway's jazz scene as "Nordic Cool," is, like most generalizations, inevitably distanced from truth. Atomic, The Coreand Motif may possess no shortage of heat, but ECM has undeniably helped define that unmistakable Norwegian aesthetic. One of the "big four," brought to international attention in the early 1970s alongside guitarist Terje Rypdal, saxophonist Jan Garbarek, and drummer Jon Christensen, bassist Arild Andersen's ECM releases have largely avoided the kind of burning improvisational energy of his powerful trio disc Triptykon (1973), with Garbarek and Finnish drummer Edward Vesala. Live at Belleville—Andersen's first live album for ECM since his equally potent but stylistically different Molde Concert (1982)—recalls Triptykon's fiery intensity, but also reflects the same assimilation of traditional Norwegian music of albums including Sagn (1991). Live at Belleville is, like Triptykon, a trio date, featuring expat Italian drummer Paolo Vinaccia and Scottish saxophonist Tommy Smith. Andersen couldn't have made better choices. When Smith graduated from Berklee College of Music in the 1980s, his sound was a cogent combination of Jan Garbarek's biting tone and Michael Brecker's Americanized soulfulness. Since then his voice has become his own, but Garbarek and Brecker still loom and, while Garbarek's Mai Jazz 2008performance in Stavanger, Norway made clear he's still capable of edgy spontaneity, Smith has stayed more clearly within definable jazz borders, playing with a stunning combination of measured lyricism and inspired improvisational abandon.

Vinaccia, a Norwegian resident for over 20 years, works regularly with Andersen and Rypdal, heard on the bassist's Electra (ECM, 2005) and guitarist's Vossabrygg(ECM, 2006). Capable of the unabashed energy required to propel Andersen's fiercely swinging "Independency Part 2"—part of the bassist's four-movement "Independency" suite celebrating Norway's 100-year liberation from its Swedish union—Vinaccia also paints with the sparest of colors on the closing "Dreamhorse," as Andersen and Smith play a folkloric melody reminiscent, in spirit, of Jim Pepper's classic "Witchi-Tai-To" over the bassist's gentle, real-time looping.

Despite its clear virtuosity, Live at Belleville demonstrates a compelling balance between reckless unpredictability and careful construction. "Independency Part 1" unfolds slowly, Andersen's robust bass tone creating such an expansive sound that, even when he's not tastefully employing electronics, it often feels larger than a trio, as he simultaneously anchors the sound and provides a melodic foil for Smith. Smith's solo builds with piercing

inevitability, harsh screams balanced with economical melodicism. His thrilling duet with Vinaccia at the center of "Part 2" channels hints of Albert Ayler, an early Garbarek influence, and is an early highlight of the 75-minute set, as is the equally galvanizing bass/drums duet that follows.

With enough form to lend cohesive shape to the entire set and plenty of freedom to allow Andersen, Smith and Vinaccia to take the music where they will, Live at Belleville is Andersen's most exciting release to date. Even more, balanced with its lyrical and, at times, near-orchestral tendencies, it's the best disc of Andersen's long and varied career.

Arild Andersen at All About Jazz. Visit Arild Andersen on the web.

Track listing: Independency Part 1; Independency Part 2; Independency Part 3; Independency Part 4; Prelude to a Kiss; Outhouse; Dreamhorse.

Personnel: Arild Andersen: double-bass, live electronics; Tommy Smith: tenor saxophone; Paolo Vinaccia: drums.

The SCOTSMAN JAZZ ARILD ANDERSEN: LIVE AT BELLEVILLE ***** ECM RECORDS, MY JAZZ album of the year. Norwegian bass maestro teams up with saxophonist Tommy Smith and Italian drummer Paolo Vinaccia in a trio that is brimming over with compelling ideas and creative invention. Other than an unusually abstract reading of Ellington's Prelude to a Kiss, the music is all composed by Andersen. The disc opens with the four-part, 45-minute suite Independency, written in 2005 to mark the centenary of Norway's liberation from the union with Sweden. The music never flags for an instant, whether in slow-moving, atmospheric explorations or fiery up-tempo jousting. Outhouse is a fierce workout, while the closing Dreamhorse is simple and very beautiful – the applause at the end seems rudely intrusive on the lovely mood it invokes. Andersen's extended playing technique and use of electronics places his approach to the double bass on a different level to most other players, while Smith's keening saxophone work and Vinaccia's supple, responsive drumming make their own essential impact. Scottish audiences had a taste of what to expect at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival, with Alyn Cosker standing in superbly for the drummer, and the album personnel will be heard here next month – needless to say, not to be missed. KENNY MATHIESON

Tilbake til saken (http://www.vl.no/kultur/anmeldelser/musikk/article3863936.ece)

Foto ScanpixMed Paolo Vinaccia og Tommy Smith har Arild Andersen spilt inn en liveplate med nerve.

Andersens morsomste lagBassisten Arild Andersen har gjennom 40 år skapt jazz med stor levedyktighet. Denne liveinnspillingen gjørikke skam på samlingen.

Samfunn Verden Kristenliv Meninger Folk Magasin Lyd&bilde

Bøker Film Teater Idrett Bildeserier vltv Quiz Skjer Gudstj. Kundesenter KontaktMusikk

Kultur

Til forsiden tirsdag 21.10.08 • TIPS OSS! • 22 310 310 • tips@vl.no • VLTIPS til 2005 Søk

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1 av 2 21-10-08 11:31

CD jazz

Arild Andersen bass, Paolo Vinaccia trommer,Tommy Smith sax

Live at Belleville

ECM 2078 177 4448/ Musikklosen

Ikke et vondt ord om tidligere stjernelag, men dette er etter min oppfatning detmorsomste. Arild Andersen har skrevet alle sangene unntatt Ellingtons «Prelude to akiss». CD-en innledes med en firedelt suite; Independency 1-4, som varer i over 40minutter.

Dynamikk. Paolo Vinaccio har en rikdom i spillet, og samtidig en enhet i uttrykketsom er relativt enestående. Disse egenskapene viser han her til fulle. InnenforAndersens relativt lange komposisjoner bidrar han sterkt til dynamikk ogsammenheng.

Saxofonisten Tommy Smith er et «beskrevet blad», som neppe vil skjemmes overdenne produksjonen. Han leder tankene til Jan Garbareks gyllene klang, og spillerhurtig som en John Coltrane. Her får han tumleplass, og viser at frapperende teknikkikke nødvendigvis distraherer viljen og evnen til å skape magi.

Vakkert. Musikken er både vakker, kompleks og voldsom. Andersen har lenge vistoss at bassen er et fremragende soloinstrument. Og her synger bassen renere ogvakrere enn noensinne.

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Av Ragnar Kasbo Publisert 20.10.2008 - 07:00 Oppdatert 20.10.2008 - 15:27

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2 av 2 21-10-08 11:31

Trio i toppslagKlubbjobb for evigheten.

JAZZ_Terje Mosnes

Live at Belleville

Artist: Arild Andersen/Paolo Vinaccia/Tommy Smith

Plateselskap: ECM/Musikkoperatørene

CD: Arild Andersen er en av de ytterst få kontrabassistene med format til å

gjøre en trioplate til en noe nær orkestral lytteopplevelse, og på «Live atBelleville» står han fram i all sin inviterende velde og autoritet sammen med

to romantiske råskinn som matcher ham perfekt: Den skotske saksofonisten

Tommy Smith – bedre enn noensinne – og den italienske, lenge Norge-bosatte

trommeslageren Paolo Vinaccia.

KLANGLIG rår Andersen, med litt elektronisk hjelp, over en mangefarget palett

som han utnytter med sikker sans for hva han ønsker å formidle til enhver

tid. Nyansene i intonasjon og frasering har han finslipt gjennom 40 års

allsidig musisering, og når, som her, den stadig mer spennende komponisten

Andersen trår fram i sømløs symbiose med improvisatoren ved samme navn,

blir resultatet formidabelt.__Hovedverket, den fire-satsede «Independency»,

er besettende historiefortelling med spenn fra strid og kaos til overjordisk

skjønnhet. Her møtes Smiths mektige tenor og Vinaccias intuitivt

«kontrapunktiske» perkusjon i inspirert kommunikasjon med hverandre og

med Andersens allestedsnærværende bass, og også platas «bonusspor» –

Andersens på-alle-plugger-kjørende «Outhouse» og fløyelsmyke

«Dreamhorse» samt Ellingtons «Prelude to a Kiss» som en ren

maktdemonstrasjon fra Smith – er med på å gjøre «Live at Belleville» til en

hjørnestein i Andersens diskografi.

Arts

Ten minutes into a conversa-tion with Tommy Smith and it would come as no surprise if the saxophonist inserted the news that he had scientists

working privately on a project to extend the number of hours in a day.

It’s Sunday lunchtime when we meet in Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall. Smith has just fl own up from London, where the previous evening he was playing a Southbank concert with Norwegian bassist Arild Andersen’s trio. That concert is sandwiched between Scottish National Jazz Orchestra concerts in Edinburgh and Linlithgow for the Youth Music Initiative. The previous Monday, Smith was also in London for a doubleheader with SNJO, playing their Steely Dan programme to a raucously appreciative audience, and his youth jazz orchestra at London Jazz Festival.

On top of this, he has the curriculum to draw up for Scotland’s fi rst full-time jazz course, which begins at the RSAMD in Glasgow next September and for which auditions have recently been held. There’s also a late November/early December tour with Andersen to prepare for, an orchestral work to revise for Celtic Connections in January, and a new SNJO CD featuring the orchestra’s adaptation of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue to fi nalise. I’m sure I’ve missed something but this busy-ness seems always to have been the way with Smith.

H e s e e s t h i n g s needing done, and goes ahead and does t h e m . S c o t l a n d needed a national jazz orchestra on a par with, for example, France: now it has one. The torrent of young jazz musicians Scotland has been producing over the past decade needed an orchestral outlet and big band training, so Smith formed his own youth jazz orchestra – at his own expense. And for years Smith has been campaigning for graduate level jazz education in Scotland, a cause he picked up from his early mentor, the late saxophonist and broad-caster Gordon Cruickshank and that he is in the process – fi nally, he underlines with a certain satisfaction – of bringing to fruition.

“It’s eight years since I fi rst approached

Performing at the speed the RSAMD,” he says, “and now that we have our fi rst intake of students ready to begin next year, it’s really exciting.”

The course will be small. Seven students have been selected from the 30-plus young musicians who applied from as far afi eld as Italy and in the next four years the faculty will grow to a maximum of 30. Tuition will be one-to-one – seven of Scotland’s leading jazz players, including Smith, trumpeter Ryan Quigley and drummer Alyn Cosker, have been hired to share the benefi t of their knowledge and experience .

“Small is good because it allows us to focus on the individual students,” says Smith. “And because there’s seven of them – alto and tenor saxophone, trum-pet, guitar, piano, bass and drums – we have a band. They can grow together and they’ll be shown how to be professional musicians from year one. Everything they need to know about the music business will be in the course because it’s really important that we prepare them properly for their careers, as well as teaching them to play to the highest standard.”

And if some of these students should develop into players good enough for SNJO, Smith will be only too pleased to try them out. Already a handful of musicians f rom his Tommy Smith Youth Jazz Orchestra have made the step up to the

big team, which, w i t h a n ew p o s t being created for an administrator, is a b o u t t o g a t h e r momentum.

Until now, Smith has taken care of e v e r y d e t a i l o f SNJO’s business, f r o m b o o k i n g venues and fi lling in

funding applications to setting up the PA. Adding chief cook and washer-upper would only be a slight exaggeration, since Smith’s front room doubles as the orchestra’s rehearsal space and someone has to round up the coffee cups.

“Our Scottish Arts Council funding has just been increased signifi cantly, which means that we can now afford to pay someone proper ly to take care o f administration, orchestra management and fi nding sponsorship,” he says. “So from now on, I’ll be free to focus on the artistic side and if we find the right

person, we should be able to play more regularly. There’s no shortage of projects in the pipeline. We have a Buddy Rich tribute already planned for February and after that, I’d like to look at Miles Davis’s electric period, because that’s something we haven’t really done before, and maybe bring in John Scofi eld, who played with Miles, on guitar and Roy Hargrove on trumpet as guests. Gospel music’s some-thing else I’d like the orchestra to tackle and something involving the ECM Records movement, where we can commission composers from the label and maybe invite some musicians associated with the label to play with the orchestra.”

Smith’s primary frustration has been SNJO’s minuscule recorded output. The Rhapsody in Blue disc will be

only the orchestra’s second release (it’s now six years since SNJO’s Miles Ahead, featuring Gil Evans’s 1950s arrangements for Miles Davis ), and he counts off 15 other projects that have been recorded but remain in the can due to a lack of fi nances. A sponsor looking to associate business with the arts in Scotland could release a treasure chest of music, including fresh perspectives on Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus and John Coltrane and specially commissioned works by English composer Keith Tippett and Smith himself.

All these projects, plans and possibilities are the public side of Smith. In the back-ground are a family mystery that’s fi nally becoming resolved and a new arrival who has been the cause of some concern. Smith’s son, Arran, was born seven weeks ago with gastroschisis, a condition where the intestines, appendix and colon form outside the body. Surgeons have rectifi ed this and Smith is hoping he will be able to leave hospital soon.

“On the same day my son was born, I received a photo of my father for the fi rst time and I could see the likeness,” Smith says. This is notable, because the man Smith grew up calling “dad” turned out not to be his father, and the mysterious Polish man he was subsequently told about turned out not to be his father either. Having known from an early age that he had a brother and sister somewhere, Smith even

“From now on I’ll be free to focus on the artistic side and we should be able to play more regularly”

GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART GOES POP Art Goes Pop

£11.99 HHH

This disc has nothing very much to do with Glasgow’s venerable art school – in fact, some of

the bands thereon are not from Glasgow at all, but the Leeds-based label is home to both Popup and Isosceles, two of the 23 different combos featured.

The outside eye of a Yorkshire perspective has probably made possible this compilation of talents currently making a din in and around the city in a way that one closer to the scene might not have done. There is no unifying sound here, and that’s the joy of it. The theatrical modern music hall of Punch and the Apostles could hardly be further from the noise made by the memorably named Gummy Stumps. There’s a launch event at SWG3 in Eastvale Place, Glasgow, this very evening.

KEITH BRUCE

MACGREGOR, BRECHIN AND O’HEADHRASonas

Brechin All Records

£11.99 HHHH

Comprising one-fi fth of Blazin’ Fiddles’

invigorating front line, one of the most distinctive accordionists around and the singer-guitarist from Irish band Anam, this trio had an

embarrassment of riches when it formed in 2006 and has channelled them brilliantly on this, their fi rst CD. The tune sets combine zest, musicality, attractive voicings, clean accompaniments and an exuberance that, with Sandy Brechin’s shivery accordion style, reaches an infectious peak on Gordon Duncan’s Zito the Bubbleman, and the songs in Irish Gaelic perfectly capture Brian O hEadhra’s gentle strength, with the anthemic Taladh Na Beinne Guirme a particular highlight.

ROB ADAMS

CD REVIEWS

After eight years of lobbying the RSAMD

for a graduate-level jazz course, Tommy

Smith’s efforts have borne fruit: classes

begin next year PICTURE: COLIN ROBERTSON

12 | abc | 29.11.08 | The Herald

t the speed of sound Composer, teacher, conductor, father: there are few positions Tommy Smith doesn’t have a fi nger on, says Rob Adams

The Herald | 29.11.08 | abc | 13

THE BEST OF GILBERT AND SULLIVANThe Gala Ensemble

Sony BMG

£13.99 HHH

Backed by TV advertising, this is one of the oddest tilts at the

Christmas market, but fans of G&S will surely wish it well. A baritone, a tenor, two sopranos and a mezzo trip through the cast of pretty maids,

pirates and policemen in fi ne style, accompanied by an entirely uncredited orchestra – some or all of whom may be connected with August’s G&S festival at Buxton Opera House. Producer Marcus Marriot has done a fi ne job, and his ensemble, all singing teachers, have an agenda to encourage others through England’s Sing Up programme in primary schools. The main drawback is that these songs are always much funnier in the context of the shows.

KEITH BRUCE

AN EXCESS OF PLEASURE/THE WINGED LION Palladian Ensemble

Linn £13.99 HHHHH

The good news from Linn, reported here a few months ago, is that

the fi ne Palladian Ensemble, becalmed since the departure of stellar recorder player Pamela Thorby, has been relaunched as Palladians, with

a more versatile line-up. The very good news is that Linn has repackaged some of the original back catalogue in a series of budget-priced double CDs, of which this one, with dazzling performances of Vivaldi, Matthew Locke, John Blow and others, launched the group internationally. The best news is that the full set of four doublers can be snapped up for 40 quid (a fi ver per CD). The collection would form a handsome Christmas gift.

MICHAEL TUMELTY

To order at prices shown, with free P&P, call 01634 832789

hired a private detective to try to fi nd them and, through them, his father. Then recently, using the internet and with a rough idea of their ages, he was able to search a website and discover their whereabouts.

Happily, they were as pleased to hear from him as he was fi nally to know about his father, who died some 10 years ago. A post office savings account that his paternal grandmother had opened under Smith’s name when he was born in 1967 had miraculously found its way to Smith’s brother. The £100 investment, which has now grown to over £2000, has been lodged in an account for Arran.

By the time the youngster is home, he could be the son of a Grammy winner, since Smith has been nominated under the Best Jazz Solo category for a recording he made with Czech bassist Miroslav Vitous, American drummer Adam Nussbaum and Iraqi cornettist Amir Elsaffar, enti-tled The Potter’s Field. He could also be the son of a golf champion as Smith, whose golfing has been on hold since Arran’s arrival, has a mini competition at the Old Course in St Andrews lined up with fellow saxophonist Branford Mar-salis as part of their agreement to appear at Celtic Connections on January 25.

Meanwhile, Smith’s work with Arild Andersen’s trio on their new Live at Belleville CD is gaining rave reviews all over Europe and offers of gigs are coming in all the time. The two musicians have an association going back to the 1980s and the current group actually began as a duo, for which Andersen was commissioned to write the Independency Suite that occupies much of the live album. Drum-mer Paolo Vinaccia’s arrival to form a trio may well be followed by another addition for dates next year.

“There’s talk of Pat Metheny and Gary Burton, and Jason Rebello, who used to play in my band and now works with Jeff Beck, as possibilities,” says Smith. “But the way we’ve been playing lately, the group feels complete as it is. There’s a lot of light and shade, the whole range of dynamics involved, and great interplay between us all, so we’re really looking forward to playing in Scotland.” n

Andersen.Smith.Vinaccia play at The Lot, Edinburgh on Wednesday; The Blue Lamp, Aberdeen on Thursday; The RSAMD, Glasgow on Saturday; and Greyfriars Parish Church, Lanark on Sunday, December 7

πArild Andersen - Live At BellevilleWritten by PicoPublished December 31, 2008

Arild Andersen may not be the first name that comes up when one thinks of the greatest living acoustic bassists, but he's at least earned the right to be considered somewhere on that list.

A player of expansive range, lyricism and velocity, Andersen's list of credits as a sideman reads longer than Charles Manson's rap sheet. He's gigged with notables from George Russell and Don Cherry, to Bill Frisell and Nils Peter Molvaer. And then there's his stint in legendary Eurojazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek's band through the fellow Norwegian's formative years and much of his initial peak period of the early seventies.

Since the mid-1970s Andersen himself has recorded as a leader, like Garbarek, almost exclusively for the ECM label. His records as both a leader and sideman present music that ranges from continental jazz and whack jazz, to world fusion and hints of new age. In other words, a consummate ECM musician.

The last time out found Andersen leading a record of world fusion/new age music he heavily orchestrated (Electra, 2005). This time around, Andersen's approach could hardly be more different.

For Live At Belleville, he introduces a new trio, comprised of the Scot Tommy Smith on tenor saxophone, and the Italian expatriate in Norway, drummer Paolo Vinnacia. A lean but muscular trio is a far cry from his prior project, but the musical intent is, too. With only two other players and four compositions, Andersen is putting out perhaps the most comprehensive presentation of his music that he ever put on a single record.

Just from the first song, Andersen covers most of the bases.

To be fair, his extensive "Independency" is a four-part suite. The first

part alludes to Norwegian folk music, the second movement is deft application of free jazz, the third section is a free-flowing, ambient piece, and the last segment moves within the realm of angular bop.

The performances from all three are outstanding throughout. Vinnacia provides the right shadings and cadences, no matter the varying settings at hand, and Smith's long lines and chunky tones fill up big chunks of space. Andersen's bass playing leaves such a large sonic footprint that he often takes up the role of guitarist. He isn't a show-off, but he's got finger speed to spare when the mood strikes, as it does about two and a half minutes into "Independency Part III." All three are playing so well attuned to each other despite there being a lot more of improvised parts than composed parts.

All these impressions comes from listening to the "Independency" suite only, but there's more.

"Prelude To A Kiss" starts with a some sublime tenor work from Smith, who gives the Duke Ellington classic a reading bristling with the romanticism this ballad demands, but without a single copied phrase. "Outhouse" is a vehicle for the nimble kit work of Vinaccia, who reveals a lot of subtlety and a great sense of timing on his drums.

All three seem to have a psychic connection to each other, as the group improvisation on this track is of the highest order. The individuals solos by Smith and Andersen are even more astonishing.

At the end of the set comes the dreamy "Dreamhorse," where Andersen discreetly loops the bass line and then solos melodically on top of it, eventually engaging in call and response with Smith.

Of course, a live performance can be marred by a subpar recording. Such is not the case here. Andersen produced this album and along with Jan Erik Kongsaug and label founder Manfred Eicher, mixed and edited the raw recordings. To cut to the chase, they did a flawless job.

Since this was a live recording, there was also a higher energy level than most ECM studio recordings, giving Live At Belleville a certain edge that manages not to sacrifice any of the typical hallmarks of this label. That, along with some outstanding performances by all three players, makes this record one of Arild Andersen's more compelling ones.

Live At Belleville became available on November 25.

Jeff Dayton-Johnson's Best of 2008 Published: January 11, 2009

Arild Andersen Live at Belleville ECM Records

The highlight is a forty-minute suite celebrating the centenary of Norway's independence from the yolk of Swedish subjugation—seriously. That the music is so consistently intelligent and passionate is a tribute to all three members of the trio, but particularly saxophonist Tommy Smith.