Sinikka Langeland
The Land That Is Not
ECM Records
www.ecmrecords.com

Enrico Rava
Tribe
ECM Records
www.ecmrecords.com

Keith Jarrett
Rio
ECM Records
www.ecmrecords.com
By George W. Harris

Here’s the kind of material that ECM does best. Take a Scandinavian
group of artists, like Norwegian vocalist Sinikka Langeland, along with
Arve Henriksen/tp, Trygve Seim/ts-ss, Anders Jormin/b and Markku
Ounaskari/perc, and have them perform northern European jazz/folk music
as a mystical fusion of genres. She sings in her local language, so
American ears have to hang on to her haunting tone and icy enunciation
for visceral effects. Seim’s emphysemic tenor and Henriksen’s gasping
trumpet create harrowing sounds that fit perfectly as added textures to
songs like “Triumph Of Being.” The opening title track takes you on a
journey through sonic fyords, hills and valleys, making music perfect
to accompany you on an early morning hike. Fascinating sounds.

Trumpet player Enrico Rava leads a band with Gianluca Petrella/tb,
Giovanni Guidi/p, Gabriele Evangelista/b, Fabrizio Sferra/dr and guest
Giacomo Ancillotto/g that gives hints to Miles Davis’ music circa
Nefertiti with a few exciting pieces like “Choctaw” and “Cornettology”
mixed in with a plethora of gentle ballads, with the funky title piece
thrown in for variety. Most of the mood here is subdued, almost gelded
with the two hard drivers beign the only time you feel like you’re
riding a “caballo con juevos.”

There must be something wrong with me, but I just don’t get Keith
Jarrett. I’ve seen him in concert, and have tons of his records. How
many of them do I listen to over and over again. Zilch. This disc is a
reason why. Yes, the songs, all sponanteously performed, are
interesting, but only to a point. As usual, there is the deep romantic
piece, the digital prowess song, the gentle boogie, and the rhapsodic
mood change. The problem with it, is are you really going to get into a
song you’ll never hear again. Are you going to attend a concert and
say, “Boy, I hope he plays “Rio, Part IV” or “Part VIII” from
Testament. It just ain’t gonna happen. You listen, are suitably
impressed, and then move on with your life