Label: Barefoot Records, 2026
Personnel - Tomasz Dabrowski: trumpet; Sven Dam Meinild: alto saxophone; Richard Andersson: bass; Peter Bruun: drums.
Berlin-based free-jazz quartet Ocean Fanfare returns with Third Nature, the concluding chapter of its Nature trilogy. The chordless Danish-Polish ensemble, which featured American drummer Tyshawn Sorey on its auspicious debut album Imagine Sound Imagine Silence (2015), is comprised of trumpeter Tomasz Dąbrowski, alto saxophonist Sven Dam Meinild, bassist Richard Andersson, and drummer Peter Bruun. Co-leaders Dąbrowski and Meinild share compositional duties, drawing inspiration from anthropologist Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing’s influential book The Mushroom at the End of the World.
“Kristisk Stadie” places angular melodies over an irregular yet swinging momentum, energized by hearty snare drum bursts. The improvisational spotlight falls primarily on the frontline players, who also propel “Natskygge Ordnen” toward a rousing climax through a blend of popping articulations, terse phrasing, ceremonial trumpet calls, and well-executed saxophone multiphonics.
The rhythm section may occasionally feel fragmented on the latter piece, but its polyrhythmic drive on “Circular One” has a constructive nature. While contributing to a steady flux, Andersson becomes increasingly active and pulsating as the piece unfolds, anchoring the music with a four-note motif set against a six-beat cycle that accommodates both individual improvisation and tightly knit unisons. “Circular Two”, by contrast, takes its time to evolve within an abstract framework.
Where “Paper Mountains” derives its strength from sparse bass movement, crisp brushwork, and contemplative parallel lines—suggesting a form of plaintive balladry—“Quantum” finds Dąbrowski and Meinild eloquently shadowing and responding to one another until a methodical, consonant finale emerges.
Creating immersive atmospheres and haunting tension, Third Nature reflects on duration, perception, and transformation through a series of open-ended pieces. At the same time, it highlights Ocean Fanfare’s ongoing commitment to tonal experimentation, collective interplay, and exploratory improvisation.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Kristisk Stadie ► 02 - Circular One ► 06 - Natskygge Ordnen