Bruno Råberg Tentet

Evolver

Orbis Music

Sweden-born, U.S. based bassist/composer Bruno Råberg has made 14 recordings as a leader and more than 50 as a sideman since coming to the U.S. in 1981. For this project, Evolver, Råberg returns to a large ensemble format for the first time in 22 years with players familiar to the bandleader from the Boston scene and Berklee, where Råberg teaches in the master’s program at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, led by pianist Danilo Perez.  As it turns out this writer was unfamiliar with all these players but was attracted to the album by the two featured guests, Grammy-winning pianist Kris Davis and esteemed saxophonist Walter Smith III. The former plays on six tracks with Smith III appearing on four. The leader plays acoustic bass alongside flutist Fernando Brandao, saxophonists Allan Chase and Stephen Byth, trumpeter Peter Kenagy, trombonist Randy Pingrey, bass clarinetist Charlotte Lang, guitarist Nate Radley, pianist/organist Anastassiya Petrova, and drummer Gen Yoshimura.

The title refers to both how the composer’s writing and the tentet’s playing evolved over the course of the year leading up to the recording through a series of live concerts. Råberg composed with this set of musicians in mind, aiming for narrative arcs and taking cues from Wayne Shorter’s ability to cast instruments as different characters within a play.  All but one of these ten pieces are new, with “Elegy” having previously been recorded with a quartet on 2008’s Lifelines. The first four pieces are without Davis and Smith III.

The bulk of the album is inspired by Greek mythology beginning with the opening “Perpeteia” (“to go on an adventure”). This highly textured, cinematic piece with a long exploratory intro sets the stage for what follows and features brief poignant solos from the pianist, trombonist, guitarist, Chase on soprano saxophone, and the leader. He sources “Mode Natakapriya” from traditional Indian music and (without getting too detailed a system with 72 basic mother scales, yielding unique colors, painted primarily by Kenagy, Byth on tenor, and Yoshimura on the drum set. The blended harmonics are extraordinary. “Stilje” means ‘stillness” in Swedish, in other words when there is no wind. The blissful clam here is rendered by six of the ten featured – bass, alto flute, clarinet, trumpet, guitar and piano. The contemplative “Sunday” has the pianist, flutist, guitarist, and trombonist shaping a jaunty explorative path in between the ensemble parts. Brandao’s flute alone projects sunny skies, a light breeze, and a relaxing afternoon brightened even further by the other soloists and the swelling ensemble backdrop.

Smith III and Davis make their first appearance as the only two soloists on “Elegy,” a mournful piece where the tenorist and pianist emerge mid-piece, enlivening the rather dirge-like intro. These two guests are the major soloists along with drummer Yoshimura on “Erebus,” again from Greek mythology meaning ‘descending into darkness.” The opening fanfare is bright but otherwise we hear haunting, atmospheric solos from Davis and an expressive Smith III mixed with brisk and staccato rhythms prior to the drummer’s explosive finale.

The focal point of the album is the four-part “The Echos Suite” which means ‘sound’ in Greek. The first part is a bit dissonant and free, featuring Davis’s signature prepared piano. The stance becomes even freer in the second section with the leader and Allan on soprano sax playing some of the harmonic motives of the first part. Part III is described by Råberg as a “suite within the suite,” as the tentet goes ‘out’ into freer zones in a jagged and unpredictable way led by Davis, Allan on baritone sax, Smith III on tenor, and Radley’s teasingly bluesy lines.  The ensemble returns to more solid harmonic structures in the final movement that caps the whole album, ceding the spotlight again to the two guests.

Bruno Råberg’s compositions move in so many different directions here that it is easy to get lost while at the same time remaining engaged, anxious to hear what direction they take next. It makes for a fascinating listen.

• Jim Hynes

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