Arild Andersen Quartet - Green Shading Into Blue (1978)

The follow-up to the gorgeous Shimri (link below) found Arild Andersen's quartet still as light and refreshing as an autumn breeze, but capable of channelling more blustery weather as well.  Sole hits a wonderfully light groove, with Lars Jansson judiciously introducing electronic keys for the first time.  The Guitarist really ought to have been named The Flautist, and is a serene breathing space before the next lengthy track, Jansson's Anima.  Juhani Aaltonen switches back to sax for some of his most firey playing on the album, whilst Jansson and Andersen provide mellower interludes.

Side Two kicks off with a groovy tribute to Andersen's partner of the time, Radka Toneff, before settling down into the rural twilight of the album cover.  The title track finds Jansson back on understated synth, as Andersen, rock-solid as ever, leads the way for Aaltonen's sax.  The home stretch of Jana is an upbeat drive home as the last light fades, capping off a typically gorgeous and evocative Andersen album.

link
pw: sgtg

Previously posted at SGTG:
Shimri
Molde Concert
and featuring Arild Andersen:
Afric Pepperbird
Triptykon
Popofoni
In Line
Bluish

Arild Andersen - Shimri (1977)

Yeah, I know... I've probably written things like 'autumnal ECM gorgeousness' a hundred times in different posts - but this is the absolute zenith, one that oozes it from every pore.  In October 1976, Arild Andersen brought this Norwegian-Swedish-Finnish group into the studio for his second album as bandleader, and came up with this mellow beauty that was released the following year.

The opening title track shimmers like a glassy lake, with Juhani Aaltonen's sax smouldering in the embers of a lakeside campfire, before a gentle breeze carries forward the slightly more upbeat No Tears with some stunning piano from Lars Jansson.  As twilight descends, Aaltonen switches to flute for the next three songs, all of them gorgeous beyond words, before the last and longest track goes back to sax.  This finale, Dedication, gets a lot more firey than the rest thanks to the momentum Aaltonen gives it, but doesn't disturb the mood of the rest of the album - rather, it just balances it out perfectly.  As if we hadn't heard enough of Andersen's bass mastery already, he takes a solo just before the end.  For me, this is the absolute highlight of his discography.  Essential peak ECM.

link