A KEY FASCINATION with Swedish bassist, cellist and composer Lars Danielsson’s Liberetto III is that his original music’s instrumental fluctuations and juxtapositions frequently pose thoughts of “What is that instrument or combination of sounds?”
The third of the bassist/composer’s recordings under this title again brings together guitarist John Paricelli and drummer Magnus Öström to form the core quartet, this time with pianist Grégory Privat; and as before, some of Danielsson’s twelve new pieces also feature a clutch of guests (including returning trumpeter Arve Henriksen) to further varicolour the attractive, pictorialised soundscapes.
German label ACT Music (this year celebrating its 25th anniversary) has successfully continued to discover and nurture a distinctive, European ‘family’ of artists; and Danielsson’s output is very much a part of its prolific release catalogue – typically cosmopolitan, infused with cross-cultural atmospheres and refractions, defined by a welcome lack of boundary. Describing the project’s development, he refers to the band having a ‘sixth sense’ which comes from playing together so much; and this surely is a factor in why this array of ebullient, haunting and even spiritual expressions melds together so well across the album’s fifty-five minutes.
Lars Danielsson’s melodic approach is not unlike that of German bassist Eberhard Weber, and his bright, lyrical vibrato is prominent in opening numbers Preludium and Agnus Dei, with the latter’s warm, hymnal equilibrium emphasised by Arve Henriksen’s subtle trumpet and Björn Bohlin’s oboe d’amore. With Magnus Öström driving the precise energy of numbers such as Lviv, there’s a pleasing inevitability of his brushed ‘perpetuum mobile’ summoning e.s.t., confirmed by Danielsson’s searing, screeching strings in Dawn Dreaming. Hussam Aliwat’s oud and John Paracelli’s acoustic guitar enhance the dusky, heated Arabic flavours of Taksim by Night and also (showcasing Grégory Privat’s rapid, pianistic flair) catchy Sonata in Spain.
The clear, reverential aspects of the bassist’s compositions and arrangements are particularly magnetic – from the melancholy trumpet phrasing and wordless vocal of Henriksen in Orationi (which also features an achingly beautiful solo from Danielsson) to a similarly wistful pastorale, Da Salo, painted with exquisite, teardrop watercolours from Bohlin’s English horn. The appealing African-lute timbres of Danielsson’s gimbri are given a contemporary twist in Gimbri Heart as chromatic trumpet and sustained effects prompt the leader’s flamboyant rock cello; and the echoic, French elegance of Mr Miller (US bassist Marcus Miller also, incidentally, a master of the gimbri) suggests the romanticism of Fauré’s ‘Pavane’ and Ravel’s ‘Bolero’ – glimpses of European classical and folk, throughout this album, add so much.
To close, affably scurrying guitar lollipop Affretando spreads soft sunshine with theme-tune-like memorability until slow, eventide bossa nova Berchidda seemingly honours Antônio Carlos Jobim in sublime suspension, featuring Danielsson’s dulcet high-bass melodies, with great attention to detail.
Released on 26 May 2017, Liberetto III somehow casts a spell… a real joy to hear, again and again.
1 Preludium ( Lars Danielsson) 02:10
2 Agnus Dei ( Lars Danielsson) 04:58
3 Lviv ( Lars Danielsson) 04:38
4 Taksim By Night ( Lars Danielsson) 04:16
5 Dawn Dreamer ( Lars Danielsson) 06:26
6 Orationi ( Lars Danielsson) 04:04
7 Sonata In Spain ( Lars Danielsson) 04:08
8 Da Salo ( Lars Danielsson) 06:05
9 Gimbri Heart ( Lars Danielsson) 03:56
10 Mr Miller ( Lars Danielsson) 03:35
11 Affrettando ( Lars Danielsson) 05:19
12 Berchidda ( Lars Danielsson) 04:46
Lars Danielsson / double bass, cello, piano intro on 05 & 08, wah-wah cello & guembri on 09
Grégory Privat / piano
John Parricelli / guitars
Magnus Öström / drums & percussion
Guests:
Arve Henriksen / trumpet on 01, 02, 06, 09, voice on 06
Dominic Miller / acoustic guitar on 10
Hussam Aliwat / oud on 04 & 07
Björn Bohlin / english horn on 02, 03, 08
& oboe d’amore on 01
Mathias Eick / trumpet on 10
Recorded and mixed by Bo Savik at Tia Dia Studios, Mölnlycke Sweden.
