A leading Norwegian bassist for over 30 years, ECM legend Arild Andersen forges promising relationships with two rising stars - Daniel Sommer (drums) and Rob Luft (guitar) in an expansive, playful exploration of song and collective improvisation. Led by Sommer, the release signifies the first chapter of the drummer's much-anticipated Nordic trilogy on April Records, aiming to capture and document Nordic improvisation and composition across three carefully curated ensembles. Bassist Arild Andersen's storied career stretches back to the 1970's as one of ECM's first recording artists, collaborating with household names of the genre including Jan Garbarek, Don Cherry, Bill Frisell, John Taylor, Sonny Rollins, Chick Corea, and the list goes on. Welcoming the opportunity to work with and nurture younger artists, the ensemble was born when Daniel Sommer selected Andersen for a project during his studies at the Danish National Academy of Music. Later, impressed by Luft's performances in Ireland and Norway, Andersen suggested expanding the pair into a trio. A transcendent musical voyage, 'As Time Passes' blurs the lines of conventional trio roles, and celebrates the evolution of jazz as a fluid, versatile form of expression. By providing each musician the freedom of becoming a key contributor in the melodic discourse, the trio channels the spirit of jazz veterans such as the Bill Evans Trio and free-jazz ensemble Air, while echoing the sounds and innovations of pan-European contemporary jazz. Mixing pensive rubato ambience with energetic grooves, instrumental dexterity, a modern ECM-esque sound and folk undertones, the record's compositional clarity combined with the spontaneity of a live performance flows across and between genres, borders and generations alike. Luft's intricately overdubbed layers of acoustic guitars, vast reverbs, and contrapuntal melodies expand the sound of the three piece into an immersive world of textures. Rendered in the stark beauty of Andersen's bass lines, the nuanced strokes of Sommer's drums, and capped with the lush, expansive timbres of Luft's guitar, "As Time Passes" is a testament to the enduring and ever-evolving wonder of Jazz.
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