In many ways, the last volume in the
ECM
Rarum
series of artist-chosen retrospectives is also one of its finest.
Jon Christensen
is the label's drummer of drummers. He has played with virtually every major leader on the roster, and his fluid, enigmatic touch has graced
's most outstanding recordings.
Christensen
has the rapacious appetite of an
Elvin Jones
or
Roy Haynes
, but combines it with the wondrously light, dancer's touch of a
Billy Higgins
. The nine tracks here showcase
's uncanny ability to adapt, color, and in some cases even drive the vision of a bandleader toward its flourish. On the opening track,
"Personal Mountains"
(the title cut from a
Keith Jarrett
date with
Jan Garberek
and
Palle Danielsson
filling out the quartet),
pushes
Jarrett
out of character, making the pianist hit the keys in direct response to the graceful yet furious attack coming from the kit. Alongside
Ralph Towner
on
"Piscean Dance,"
a 12-string and drum duo,
whispers incessantly, offering
Towner
the bedrock of force he needs to get physical with his guitar. On the funky
"Per Ulev,"
led by
Terje Rypdal
,
adds a shimmering Afro-Brazilian touch to his rhythm melange and carries the track over. But it is on
"Oceanus,"
from
's
Solstice
album with
Garbarek
Eberhard Weber
, and
, that
is heard in his role of drummer as singing dancer. His double-timed whispering snare and cymbal work are accented with such sensitivity and motion that everyone plays off him.
fills the air with edgy chords and hammering runs on his 12-string as punched entries into the maelstrom as
articulates some far-off melody right into the kit.
Weber
, free not to worry about his end of time keeping, is free to engage with the other two as
simultaneously holds the central space and moves it forward into near oblivion. But the most beautiful track on the entire set is the title track from
Bobo Stenson
War Orphans
from 1997.
's place in the trio with the pianist and bassist
Anders Jormin
is one of melodist and harmonist. This is deeply moving music played with such care and dexterity that
is all but completely unobtrusive, but provides the motion and dynamic for
Stenson
to articulate his open-field harmonic dexterity. In sum,
's volume offers a rather stunning portrait of the
core roster, how exploratory and adventurous it has been since its inception, and continues to be. Highly recommended. ~ Thom Jurek