Iro Haarla Quintet
Vespers
ECM Records
www.ecmrecords.com
By George W. Harris

Iro Haarla’s Scandinavian Quintet (with Mathias Eick/tp, Trygive
Seim/sax, Uffe Krokfors/b and Jon Christensen/dr) delivers subdued
music that is high on feeling. When I saw “feeling,” I don’t mean anger
or excitement, we’re talking mournful and worshipful agony. The title
hints at the mood. Like Rachmaninoff, this Vespers is filled with
solemnity. Seim’s tenor breathes like a passionate chant, while Haarla
mixes piano and harp to create a celestial atmosphere. The breathing of
the two horn together is reminiscent of a choir on tunes like “Doxa”
and “A Port On A Distant Shore.” The rhythms tend to be timeless and
ruminative more than stagnant. Contemplative, yet still able to glow
like a candle in front of an icon.