Over the course of thirty-plus years, bassist/composer Ingebrigt Håker Flaten has played punk, rock, noise, experimental weirdness, and every iteration of jazz you can imagine. The Norwegian native has led his own bands, been part of some major European acts like Atomic and The Thing, and toured all over the world. Having spent a good couple of decades in the U.S. (Chicago, New York, Austin, Dallas), he’s as grounded in American jazz as its continental, less structured cousin, and brings all of his experience to Breezy, his latest album with his band (Exit) Knarr.
Drawing specifically on the spiritual jazz of Pharoah Sanders and the Coltranes and the European tradition of free improvisation, Flatten paints a landscape that undulates between heaven and hell, with violent sound blasts interrupted by flowing ocean waves. “Dylar” clears the decks with a mantra-like rhythm figure and unfettered expression from its horn players, settling into a lush, vibrant coda. Through saxophonists Mette Rasmussen and Karl Hjalmar Nyberg and trumpeter Erik Kimestad Pedersen, “Hilma” highlights the ecstasy of heavenly insight before Flaten, pianist Oscar Grönberg, and drummer Olaf Moses Olsen turn to a hard swing, letting guitarist Jonathan F. Horne lead the way with steely distortion. “Ability” revolves around punchy horn riffs and its composer’s bebop groove, yet allows plenty of freedom for the players to cut loose, with Nyberg reclaiming the soprano sax from the Kenny Gs of the world. A riff on Eddie Harris’ “Freedom Jazz Dance,” “Free the Jazz” simply lets rip in a fiery explosion no-holds-barred action. The album ends with its title track, a chaotic, melodic, emotional tribute to the late, great jazz eclectician Jaimie Branch, a close friend and collaborator with Flaten during his Chicago years.
After three decades as a team player more often than a bandleader, it’s refreshing to hear Flaten molding a set of musicians into conduits for his own vision – not to mention doing it so well. With freedom on his mind and love in his heart, Flaten hits a new peak on Breezy – as a composer, musician, field general, and, most importantly, empathic human.
