A longtime member of ex-Pat Metheny Group drummer Paul Wertico's trio, enough has already been written about John Moulder's double life as jazz guitarist and ordained priest. Bifröst is Moulder's follow-up to the ambitious and eclectic Trinity (Origin, 2006), where the guitarist's spirituality became a touchstone for music ranging from the ethereal to the grounded, and from elegant folklore to potent, angst-driven fusion. What makes Bifröst even more satisfying is its narrowing of focus down from a larger cast of characters to a quintet, bringing together old friends Wertico and fretless electric bassist Brian Peters with new Norwegian ones, double-bassist Arild Andersen and saxophonist Bendik Hofseth.
That Andersen collaborated, early in his career, with Terje Rypdal makes this transatlantic first
A longtime member of ex-Pat Metheny Group drummer Paul Wertico's trio, enough has already been written about John Moulder's double life as jazz guitarist and ordained priest. Bifröst is Moulder's follow-up to the ambitious and eclectic Trinity (Origin, 2006), where the guitarist's spirituality became a touchstone for music ranging from the ethereal to the grounded, and from elegant folklore to potent, angst-driven fusion. What makes Bifröst even more satisfying is its narrowing of focus down from a larger cast of characters to a quintet, bringing together old friends Wertico and fretless electric bassist Brian Peters with new Norwegian ones, double-bassist Arild Andersen and saxophonist Bendik Hofseth.
That Andersen collaborated, early in his career, with Terje Rypdal makes this transatlantic first encounter all the more successful, given that Moulder's visceral, overdriven and often whammy bar-centric electric playing is unmistakably influenced by the Norwegian guitar legend. And while he certainly possesses his own voice, the sound of another Norwegian notable and early Andersen cohort, saxophonist Jan Garbarek, is an equal touchstone in Hofseth's tone and approach.
Here, Moulder's high energy electric is juxtaposed and combined with six- and twelve-string acoustic guitars to to create a context that hints, in some ways, back to Ralph Towner and Solstice (ECM, 1975). Bifröst's opening title track, in fact, speaks deeply of Towner's harmonic language and, with Wertico's light cymbal work and Hofseth's soaring lines, could easily fall into similar territory were it not for Andersen's in-the-gut double-bass and Moulder's searing electric solo. Moulder's serpentine melody weaves around ambiguous harmonies, as the piece builds dramatically—and inevitably.
Moulder may drive some of Bifröst with hard-edged electricity, but he's also capable of softer lyricism; his solo acoustic intro to the ultimately more buoyant "Watch Your Step"—where his acoustic melody is bolstered in strong, lilting unison by Hofseth and Peters— sounding like an outtake from Metheny's One Quiet Night (Nonesuch, 2003). "Echoes of Home," driven gently by Wertico's percussion, is another acoustic feature, with Moulder recalling Windham Hill's Alex DeGrassi, but with greater depth.
Andersen's remarkable combination of deep, resonant tone and lithe dexterity is a fundamental throughout the disc, with his solo intro to "Magical Space" a highlight as he builds phrase-after-phrase over a looped chordal wash. Once the group enters, setting a dark context for solos by Moulder (again, on acoustic) and Hofseth, its temporal elasticity recalls ECM classics like Bill Connors' Of Mist and Melting (1978). Wertico's restraint here is as impressive as his more powerful bent on the closing part of Moulder's episodic "Time Being," a 15-minute epic that ends with a repeating series of ascending chords, bringing the album to a strong and definitive close.
Quietly, and with little fuss, Moulder has built his voice as writer and performer, and a rare ability to conceptualize broader narratives. With Bifröst he leverages Trinity's ambitious nature into an album that may appear smaller in focus, but is ultimately even more expansive in overall sound, vision and chemistry.
Track Listing: Bifröst; Watch Your Step (introduction); Watch Your Step; Magical Space (introduction); Magical Space; Echoes of Home; Cold Sea Triptych: Part 1; Cold Sea Triptych: Part 2; Cold Sea Triptych: Part 3; Time Being.
Personnel: John Moulder: electric guitars, 12-string and 6-string acoustic guitars; Bendik Hofseth: tenor saxophone; Arild Andersen: double-bass; Paul Wertico: drums, percussion; Brian Peters: electric fretless bass, programming.
Press Review–
There is a small but long-standing tradition of jazz informed by faith, whether it's a Gospel-influenced tune, or more expansive spiritual pieces like the sacred works of Duke Ellington or Coltrane's "A Love Supreme." Guitarist and composer John Moulder has communicated his personal faith in a suite entitled Trinity, which is his musical interpretation of "our journey in God from the primordial to the eternal." Moulder chronologically follows that trek, with the suite's genesis in the frenetic "Chaos." That movement is followed by the peaceful mood of "Creation" and a jaunty, 5/4 "Exodus." On electric and acoustic guitars, he traces other feelings of the familiar biblical narrative through an uptempo "Proclamation of the Unexpected," an uplifting "Resurrection" and a bluesy
There is a small but long-standing tradition of jazz informed by faith, whether it's a Gospel-influenced tune, or more expansive spiritual pieces like the sacred works of Duke Ellington or Coltrane's "A Love Supreme." Guitarist and composer John Moulder has communicated his personal faith in a suite entitled Trinity, which is his musical interpretation of "our journey in God from the primordial to the eternal." Moulder chronologically follows that trek, with the suite's genesis in the frenetic "Chaos." That movement is followed by the peaceful mood of "Creation" and a jaunty, 5/4 "Exodus." On electric and acoustic guitars, he traces other feelings of the familiar biblical narrative through an uptempo "Proclamation of the Unexpected," an uplifting "Resurrection" and a bluesy shuffle with the ending "Freedom." With a range of feelings that mirror that of the stories of the Judeo-Christian tradition, Moulder and guests including Laurence Hobgood, Paul Wertico and Paul McCandless have created a work of musical and spiritual beauty.
John Moulder–
The Eleventh Hour: Live At The Green Mill features guitarist John Moulder showcasing his original compositions with a stunning quintet. To put it succinctly, this recording represents modern jazz at its best. Moulder's compositions are amazingly creative and stimulating, taking fascinating twists and turns and also giving his talented bandmates the freedom to explore and take his pieces in unexpected musical directions.
-Dan Healy, Chicago Jazz Magazine
Dan Healy, Chicago Jazz Magazine
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Press Review –
A longtime member of ex-Pat Metheny Group drummer Paul Wertico's trio, enough has already been written about John Moulder's double life as jazz guitarist and ordained priest. Bifröst is Moulder's follow-up to the ambitious and eclectic Trinity (Origin, 2006), where the guitarist's spirituality became a touchstone for music ranging from the ethereal to the grounded, and from elegant folklore to potent, angst-driven fusion. What makes Bifröst even more satisfying is its narrowing of focus down from a larger cast of characters to a quintet, bringing together old friends Wertico and fretless electric bassist Brian Peters with new Norwegian ones, double-bassist Arild Andersen and saxophonist Bendik Hofseth.
That Andersen collaborated, early in his career, with Terje Rypdal makes this transatlantic first
...more
John Kelman, All About Jazz
Website
John Kelman, All About Jazz
Website
A longtime member of ex-Pat Metheny Group drummer Paul Wertico's trio, enough has already been written about John Moulder's double life as jazz guitarist and ordained priest. Bifröst is Moulder's follow-up to the ambitious and eclectic Trinity (Origin, 2006), where the guitarist's spirituality became a touchstone for music ranging from the ethereal to the grounded, and from elegant folklore to potent, angst-driven fusion. What makes Bifröst even more satisfying is its narrowing of focus down from a larger cast of characters to a quintet, bringing together old friends Wertico and fretless electric bassist Brian Peters with new Norwegian ones, double-bassist Arild Andersen and saxophonist Bendik Hofseth.
That Andersen collaborated, early in his career, with Terje Rypdal makes this transatlantic first encounter all the more successful, given that Moulder's visceral, overdriven and often whammy bar-centric electric playing is unmistakably influenced by the Norwegian guitar legend. And while he certainly possesses his own voice, the sound of another Norwegian notable and early Andersen cohort, saxophonist Jan Garbarek, is an equal touchstone in Hofseth's tone and approach.
Here, Moulder's high energy electric is juxtaposed and combined with six- and twelve-string acoustic guitars to to create a context that hints, in some ways, back to Ralph Towner and Solstice (ECM, 1975). Bifröst's opening title track, in fact, speaks deeply of Towner's harmonic language and, with Wertico's light cymbal work and Hofseth's soaring lines, could easily fall into similar territory were it not for Andersen's in-the-gut double-bass and Moulder's searing electric solo. Moulder's serpentine melody weaves around ambiguous harmonies, as the piece builds dramatically—and inevitably.
Moulder may drive some of Bifröst with hard-edged electricity, but he's also capable of softer lyricism; his solo acoustic intro to the ultimately more buoyant "Watch Your Step"—where his acoustic melody is bolstered in strong, lilting unison by Hofseth and Peters— sounding like an outtake from Metheny's One Quiet Night (Nonesuch, 2003). "Echoes of Home," driven gently by Wertico's percussion, is another acoustic feature, with Moulder recalling Windham Hill's Alex DeGrassi, but with greater depth.
Andersen's remarkable combination of deep, resonant tone and lithe dexterity is a fundamental throughout the disc, with his solo intro to "Magical Space" a highlight as he builds phrase-after-phrase over a looped chordal wash. Once the group enters, setting a dark context for solos by Moulder (again, on acoustic) and Hofseth, its temporal elasticity recalls ECM classics like Bill Connors' Of Mist and Melting (1978). Wertico's restraint here is as impressive as his more powerful bent on the closing part of Moulder's episodic "Time Being," a 15-minute epic that ends with a repeating series of ascending chords, bringing the album to a strong and definitive close.
Quietly, and with little fuss, Moulder has built his voice as writer and performer, and a rare ability to conceptualize broader narratives. With Bifröst he leverages Trinity's ambitious nature into an album that may appear smaller in focus, but is ultimately even more expansive in overall sound, vision and chemistry.
Track Listing: Bifröst; Watch Your Step (introduction); Watch Your Step; Magical Space (introduction); Magical Space; Echoes of Home; Cold Sea Triptych: Part 1; Cold Sea Triptych: Part 2; Cold Sea Triptych: Part 3; Time Being.
Personnel: John Moulder: electric guitars, 12-string and 6-string acoustic guitars; Bendik Hofseth: tenor saxophone; Arild Andersen: double-bass; Paul Wertico: drums, percussion; Brian Peters: electric fretless bass, programming.
Press Review –
There is a small but long-standing tradition of jazz informed by faith, whether it's a Gospel-influenced tune, or more expansive spiritual pieces like the sacred works of Duke Ellington or Coltrane's "A Love Supreme." Guitarist and composer John Moulder has communicated his personal faith in a suite entitled Trinity, which is his musical interpretation of "our journey in God from the primordial to the eternal." Moulder chronologically follows that trek, with the suite's genesis in the frenetic "Chaos." That movement is followed by the peaceful mood of "Creation" and a jaunty, 5/4 "Exodus." On electric and acoustic guitars, he traces other feelings of the familiar biblical narrative through an uptempo "Proclamation of the Unexpected," an uplifting "Resurrection" and a bluesy
...more
Ed Trefzger, JazzWeek
Website
Ed Trefzger, JazzWeek
Website
There is a small but long-standing tradition of jazz informed by faith, whether it's a Gospel-influenced tune, or more expansive spiritual pieces like the sacred works of Duke Ellington or Coltrane's "A Love Supreme." Guitarist and composer John Moulder has communicated his personal faith in a suite entitled Trinity, which is his musical interpretation of "our journey in God from the primordial to the eternal." Moulder chronologically follows that trek, with the suite's genesis in the frenetic "Chaos." That movement is followed by the peaceful mood of "Creation" and a jaunty, 5/4 "Exodus." On electric and acoustic guitars, he traces other feelings of the familiar biblical narrative through an uptempo "Proclamation of the Unexpected," an uplifting "Resurrection" and a bluesy shuffle with the ending "Freedom." With a range of feelings that mirror that of the stories of the Judeo-Christian tradition, Moulder and guests including Laurence Hobgood, Paul Wertico and Paul McCandless have created a work of musical and spiritual beauty.
John Moulder –
The Eleventh Hour: Live At The Green Mill features guitarist John Moulder showcasing his original compositions with a stunning quintet. To put it succinctly, this recording represents modern jazz at its best. Moulder's compositions are amazingly creative and stimulating, taking fascinating twists and turns and also giving his talented bandmates the freedom to explore and take his pieces in unexpected musical directions.
-Dan Healy, Chicago Jazz Magazine
Dan Healy, Chicago Jazz Magazine