We're always happy when trombonist Steve Swell plays at the Bop Shop. We've presented him live eight times since 2003, both leading his own groups and as a member others' ensembles. He was last here with a co-op trio that included the recently passed saxophonist Will Connell and drummer Reggie Nicholson. This time around he's the odd man out in a quartet that includes three Norwegians and a lone American.
Saxophone and clarinet player Frode Gjerstad played the Bop Shop back in 2005 as a part of Kevin Norton's trio, Instinctual Eye. He was among the earliest Norwegians to embrace free jazz after hearing the music of Eric Dolphy and Albert Ayler in the 1960s. Free jazz players in Norway were few and far between but he found kindred spirits in players from the U.K. and he formed the legendary band Detail with South African bassist Johnny Dyani and drummer John Stevens, one of the first free jazz players in Britain. They released several albums until Dyani's untimely death in 1986. He formed his own label, Circulasione Totale and began nurturing younger players in the Circulasione Totale Orchestra. Several of these players have become leaders in their own right. Dummer Paal Nilsson Love is one of them and he's been one of the major players in free jazz for the last decade, playing in The Thing, several of Ken Vandermark's ensemble and groups with Peter Brotzmann and Joe McPhee (to name just a few). Rounding out the trio is Johnny Ruun, another young player who's been nurtured by Gjerstad.
The trio of Gjerstad, Ruun and Love have released three recordings. Earlier this year they released a fourth album, At Constellation with Steve Swell as added guest on trombone. The recording was from their U.S. tour in the fall of 2014.
We're looking forward to this one. It promises to be a burner.
Frode Gjerstad's website: frodegjerstad.com
Steve Swell's website: www.steveswell.com