Label: Brotz Records, 2026
Personnel - Jonny Wartel: saxophone; Mathias Landæus: piano; Georgia Wartel Collins: bass; Henrik Wartel: drums.
The Wartels—a Swedish family of devoted practitioners of adventurous jazz and free improvisation—appear here alongside pianist Mathias Landæus in a live session recorded at Blow Out Oslo in 2024. Saxophonist Jonny Wartel leads the frontline, supported by his brother Henrik on drums and his daughter Georgia, now based in New York, on bass.
Their musical conversation, rich in nuance and strikingly organic, begins with Landæus’ meditative and harmonically balanced piano playing. Occasionally stirred by brief whirlwinds, his pianistic language gains momentum as the bass’s exploratory figures, the drums’ dynamic activity, and the saxophone’s floating lines enter the fold. The layered atmosphere gradually intensifies, with the rhythm section driving a frenetic swing that provides direction for Landæus’ inquisitive intervallic narrative. He is followed by Jonny, whose left-leaning lyricism generates both heat and agitation while maintaining a thread of sincere melodicism.
In the aftermath of this surge, the quartet—formed in 2024—navigates calmer terrain: reflective piano, gently bowed bass creating drone-like textures, understated percussion, and clearly shaped saxophone lines that remain open to “outside” exploration. The ensemble steadily rebuilds tension, shifting gears instinctively, with no fixed structure—allowing the music to flow freely as the musicians respond to evolving dynamics and intensities.
The following section turns notably melodic, offering moments of quiet intimacy that arrive with disarming grace. As weightless piano chords unfold, these passages stand among the album’s most compelling, revealing the musicians’ deep sensitivity to sound and texture. The final section begins with slippery, rolling drum figures before expanding into a Coltrane-inspired A Love Supreme atmosphere, with piano at the center of a swinging framework. Fleeting hints of folk-like melody emerge, adding a playful dimension before the piece culminates in avant-garde exuberance. This is a confident effort by full-fledged free jazz explorers.
