Label: Wee Jazz Records, 2021
Personnel - Linda Fredriksson: alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, guitar, piano, voice, synth; Tuomo Prättälä: Rhodes, synth, piano; Minna Koivisto: synth; Mikael Saastamoinen: double bass, effects; Olavi Louhivuori: drums + guests Matti Bye: piano (#3); Joonas Saikkonen: granulator (#4).
What a wonderful debut album, this Juniper by the Finnish saxophonist Linda Fredriksson. Best known as a member of the groups Mopo, Superposition and The Northern Governors, she wrings out every last bit of emotion out of her horn but also plays other instruments and uses her voice with clarity and purpose. I’m guessing she will be putting out even stronger recordings under her own name in the future.
The opener, “Neon Light (And the Sky Was Trans)”, gets off to a transcendental beginning with a facile melody set against the soft keyboard tapestry, and later complemented with tasteful effects and effective drum play. The final section, infused with both high-pitched clamors and snippets of raucous timbre, is heavenly and exploratory.
Fredriksson’s compositional process primarily includes guitar, keys and vocals before being taken to the band. Hence, it’s not surprising to hear a singer/songwriting blend of folk and pop music on titles like “Pinetree Song” and “Lempilauluni”. The former displays a strange, hypnotic guitar substratum that alternates with a well woven net of tangible bass notes and the fluid, if smothered, drumming by Olavi Louhivuori. The latter piece, delivered in five, embraces the song format even stronger. Fredriksson hums and stretches on the baritone, and the group also finds a spot for bassist Mikael Saastamoinen’s self deliberations.
These tastefully designed sounds easily bring emotion with them, but “Nana-Tapelle”, a mournful pedal-point-affected ballad dedicated to Fredriksson’s late grandmother, is a special moment. The bandleader naturally tends to be the focal point, but she trusts Matti Bye’s mellifluous piano to conclude this piece, one that vibrates with breaking points and surprising sonic vistas.
In a different mood and fueled by the rumbling low notes of the baritone, the title track shapes up as a ritualistic dance that suggests the energetic rhythms of David Byrne and brings the epic tones of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” into the stacking layers of reeds and synth. There’s a lot to admire here.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Neon Light ► 02 - Juniper ► 03 - Nana-Tapelle