Nils Økland and Sigbjørn Apeland, Glimmer, ECM ***1/2

Ostensibly a Hardanger fiddle and harmonium duo album - the Hardanger, revered in Norway, is a folk fiddle that has four bowed strings and an additional four sympathetic strings beneath the bridge. It sounds pretty ancient and suitably its first …

Published: 1 Jun 2023. Updated: 9 months.

Ostensibly a Hardanger fiddle and harmonium duo album - the Hardanger, revered in Norway, is a folk fiddle that has four bowed strings and an additional four sympathetic strings beneath the bridge. It sounds pretty ancient and suitably its first heyday was as long ago as the 18th century. Best track to our ears not being at all specialist in Norwegian folk music but knowing some of violinist Nils Økland's recordings in various settings and having heard him and Apeland play live near Bergen in a trio called 1982, the traditional 'O Venner' works so hauntingly well. And what a beautifully conveyed suitably antique sounding atmosphere is evoked on this Etne studio recording that includes music written for a film about the 19th century Norwegian painter Lars Hertervig. Glimmer is for traditional music fans primarily - not really jazz appreciators. But like a process of photosynthesis moving from one music to another it is a natural enough process to experience your listening transition however mysteriously across light into an aborption of such a lambent chemically reactive, in this case, centuries distilled end result.

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Nils Økland, photo: Malene Kristopine Økland/ECM. 'O Du Min Immanuel' is streaming ahead of the full Glimmer release on 16 June

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Gig of the week previewed - Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily at the Hay festival tomorrow night

GIG OF THE WEEK Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily Hay festival, Hay-on-Wye Thursday 1 June The sufi dimension and deft minimalism developed throughout on this point of departure of a new sound Love in Exile released in March proved rather …

Published: 31 May 2023. Updated: 10 months.

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GIG OF THE WEEK

The sufi dimension and deft minimalism developed throughout on this point of departure of a new sound Love in Exile released in March proved rather beautiful especially 'Shadow Forces'. In jazz piano icon Vijay Iyer's case a world away from Entrustment. Arooj Aftab sings the eerie, compelling, Urdu blues - a 2021 Aftab song 'Mohabbat' went on to win a Grammy for the Saudi born US based singer of Pakistani descent. On bass and Moog synth Shahzad Ismaily - a member of Aftab's band in other contexts and known for his work in Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog and as a guest of Krononaut - completes the sound on an engrossing New York studio recording. The Hay gig is at 8.30pm on Hay's Wye stage