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Nordic Quartet

Surman/Krog/Rypdal/Storaas
1 disc

1. Traces
2. Unwritten Letter
3. Offshore Piper
4. Gone to the Dogs
5. Double Tripper
6. Ved Sorevatn
7. Watching Shadows
8. Illusion, The
9. Wild Bird
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 527120
Credits

Producer Manfred Eicher
Engineer Jan Erik Kongshaug
Full performer name: John Surman/Karin Krog/Terje Rypdal/Vigleik Storaas.
Personnel: John Surman (soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone, clarinet); Karin Krog (vocals); Terje Rypdal (guitar); Vigleik Storaas (piano).
Recorded at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, Norway in August 1994.
Personnel: Vigleik Storaas (piano); Karin Krog (vocals); Terje Rypdal (guitar); John Surman (alto clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone).
Recording information: Rainbow Studio, Oslo, Norway (08/1994).
Photographer: Christoph Egger.
This is indeed a Nordic quartet, recorded in Norway and with an all- Scandinavian cast. Singer Karin Krog has pursued an adventurous career. This has found her both singing standards in a number of ensembles from the 1960s onward as well as collaborating with assorted players from the more avant-garde edges of the jazz world. Here she joins forces with saxophonist/clarinetist John Surman, guitarist Terje Rypdal, and pianist Vgleik Storaas. The nine original pieces run the gamut from the stark landscape of "Traces" with its poetic lyrics, to the quiet balladry of "Unwritten Letter."
The instrumental "Offshore Piper" is a gorgeous dialogue between Surman and Rypdal. Bracingly modern, this music also has a deeply resonant sense of place, conjuring up vistas of Arctic expansiveness. Produced by ECM label founder Manfred Eicher, the album is crystalline in tone and elegantly rendered.
Critic Reviews

Q (6/95, p.128) - 3 Stars - Good - "...a quartet that is immediatley striking for the absence of both bass and drums. Rypdal's presence....together with the consistent purity of Surman's tone, make this a record of atmospheric rather than melodic interest..."
Down Beat (3/96, p.53) - 4 Stars - Very Good - "...NORDIC QUARTET finds common ground among John Surman's ruminative bass clarinet and soprano sax, Karin Krog's plaintive, understated vocals and Rypdal's tormented guitar work....recaptures the ECM sound of earlier years, with Rypdal generating a gut-wrenching wail of anguish, and Krog offering softly detached vocals..."