OMRUM

BRINGER OF LIGHT

Hobby Horse Records

Erik Kimestad, trumpet; Mads Hyhne, trombone; Richard Andersson, double bass; Jakob Høyer, drums.

Inside a renovated barn, one winter weekend on the Danish island of Møn, these four musicians came together to create free jazz.  The opening number on this Scandinavian jazz project is titled “Intro.” The composition begins sounding a bit like buzzing flies and train whistles.  It gives us a two- minute preview of what this Copenhagen quartet is offering to the ears of the world.

Each member of “Omrum” is a distinctive voice in Nordic jazz.  All ten tracks are composed by the membership; one by Hyhne, six by Kimestad and three are collective improvisations. The Kimestad trumpet has a warm compelling tone on a tune called “Blues for Teitelbaum” in cooperation with Mads Hyhne’s trombone. When Kimestad flies off on his own to improvise atop the drums of Jakob Høyer, he is competently supported by Richard Andersson on double bass.

The four friends have a camaraderie that radiates from this project.  They listen to each other and create music in the moment.  Omrum is a new collective quartet.  Their music moves freely between improvisation and the written notes, displaying shades of intensity and the freedom that jazz embraces.  The group’s name (Omrum) is a word they created.  It does not exist. Like their music, it was made up to capture their uniqueness.  It’s meant to reflect a sense of open space, imaginations and sonic worlds. Worlds they create when playing together.

For example, on their collective composition called “Intermezzo No. 1” where they simply created a song ‘on the spot’ by improvising. I personally enjoyed their “Intermezzo No2” song the best. It has the feeling of Straight Ahead jazz laced through the arrangement.

This is Avant-garde jazz that will tickle the senses and scratch the surface of the listener’s imagination.  It’s all in how our ears embrace these ten songs, and how the brain interprets them.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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