The Most Beautiful Sounds Next to Silence

If Trygve Seim's, Different Rivers, was an astonishing debut album, then nearly twenty years later it still remains an astounding listening experience. The sheer breadth of the (all) acoustic instrumentation is, well breath-taking. The attention to detail, the spaces and the variety of timbres that Seim has been able to capture in his writing, that really come to life in the performance heard here is a monumental achievement.

That this album is something special is apparent from the first few notes of the opening 'Sorrows', with the gentle breathy ensemble slowly enveloping the listener. The pace is slow and every phrase played with precision and made to count. Each musician heard clearly, and the sound weighted perfectly within the assembled ensemble. And this is very much how the saxophonist has been able to draw such a wide variety of sounds and textures within each compositional framework, and for every piece assemble from the collective personnel above the exact instrumentation and musicians to make each composition yield the maximum amount of music.

It is with a true composer's  gift that he Seim is able to draw so much from each of his delectable compositions. All are very different but coalesce into a an album that is absorbing and with new delights and experiences on every hearing. 'Ulrikas Dans' is a perfect example of his methodology, an initial theme and motif is played out in a number of subtle timbres, and gradually allowed to build up the tension with the addition of more voices, only to relieved with a saxophone solo that is full of expression that once again develops with the ensemble to reach heights that lift the music and the spirit.

The title track makes clever use of studio technology, recording the composition twice with the musicians doubling up instruments and then cutting the sections together to make the performance heard here, but elsewhere the emphasis is on the live acoustic interaction of the instruments performing each composition. This interaction is also captured in three paired down pieces, 'Bhavana', 'Between' and 'For Edward' (a dedication to the late Edward Vesala) featuring just Trygve and trumpeter Arve Henriken. These tracks are fascinating duets where the lines between composition and improvisation are indistinguishable, the combination of tenor saxophone and trumpet makes a superb pairing, but it is when Seim picks up his soprano on 'For Edward' that the magic happens. Henriksen's sound on open trumpet is so unique and individual and with the similar range of the soprano saxophone it almost impossible to determine who is playing each part.

It is perhaps the penultimate track, 'Breathe' that sums up this remarkable album. Based on the poem, 'Breathe! You Are Alive' by Annabel Laity and recited by Sidsel Endressen this piece seems to encapsulate everything that is beautiful about the album, and possibly everything that the saxophonist set out to achieve. With the exception of a lone cello, the rest of the ensemble is made up of wind instruments, brought to life by the breath of the musicians; and the words enunciated clearly and in distinct breath groups by Endressen complete the composition perfectly.

A contemplative and calming album the music reaches deep into the human spirit, leaving behind a satisfying sense of well being that is remarkable.

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