CD Reviews

Scorch Trio

Brolt! | Rune Grammofon

By DEVIN KING | June 17, 2008

3.0 Stars

My girlfriend says the first song, “Olstra,” sounds like Santana Shreds (YouTube it), and I can’t disagree — distorted electric guitar played in a jazz context immediately calls to mind wincing dudes with a few buttons undone. But! The three players have earned their stereotypes — guitarist Raoul Björkenheim has been playing since the early ’80s, and the rhythm section of Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (bass and electronics) and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums) has been playing steadily for the last 15 years in and around the New York, Chicago, and Norwegian jazz scenes. Full! Fusion! Freakouts! abound, but the three engage in patient explorations of their playing techniques when they get tired of funkengroovin. On “Gaba,” Björkenheim creates an incredibly delicate harmonic texture by what sounds like simply scraping his strings with a pick. “Bluring” [sic] follows, and suddenly Nilssen-Love is playing at his fullest again. This time Björkenheim carries on underneath with accommodatingly clean chords while Flaten creates the white noise of a radio receiver (though it could be vice versa — it’s hard to tell). These three are unafraid to jump into new sounds, even if the beginnings are a bit silly.

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Topics: CD Reviews , Devin King, SCORCH TRIO

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