I first began to hear about the young Norwegian improvising guitarist / composer Kim Myhr and his various projects (Trondheim Jazz Orchestra and the trio “Mural”) last year. A number of colleagues and musicians had him on their radar; for instance pianist Benoit Delbecq was collaborating in a project called “Silencers” and the Molde Festival (directed by my great friend Jan Ole Otnaes) awarded him the Jazztipend prize in 2008, which among other things ($) included a commission for the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra (a special version that included Sidsel Endresen, Christian Wallumrod, Jim Denley and others) for a one hour piece ultimately titled “Stems and Cages” that was recently released on disc.
This led to an appearance at Michel Levasseur’s Victo Festival (of musique actuelle in Victoriaville, Quebec) in May of this year. The concert was well received and among the most highly regarded of the festival, with head chef Monsieur Levasseur himself giving the concert a great review (when I asked him about it in Nickelsdorf). I also heard good things about the gig from Canadian (globe trotting) pianist Charity Chan (among others) who also attended the Victo concert and just happened to be in Vancouver for most of our festival. Quite a network!
There’s also a recent disc with Montrealers Martin Tetrault, Phillipe Lauzier and Pierre -Yves Martel on Ambiances Magnetiques. It was starting to seem like Kim Myhr was turning up around every corner; so there’s no doubt that he’s busy expanding his range of connections in the world of electro-acoustic improvised music.
Early this year I began to receive a number of emails enquiring about the possibility of a concert with “Mural” (his improvising trio with long time collaborators Jim Denley and Ingar Zach) in Vancouver in October of this year and was intrigued by the idea. My esteemed colleague down south at Earshot Jazz in Seattle, John Gilbreath was on board and it seemed important that we support this project, providing continuity to our involvement with the vibrant Norwegian jazz and improvised music scene(s). Performance opportunities for improvised music are not plentiful in the northwest and Coastal Jazz plays an important role in a very delicate eco-system or network for improvised music in the region. It’s a long way to travel from countries such as Norway to perform in a few North American cities (that are often 1000’s of miles apart) to hard-core audiences. We respect the dedication and passion that the musicians bring to their craft and try to support those initiatives whenever (and in whatever way) we can as they come up.
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The first MURAL disc – “Nectars of Emergence” - released on the excellent SOFA label (Norwegian improv label) was released in February and a copy was duly sent my way. The disc was recorded over two days in the acoustic of a country church and the sound is pristine and the results delightful in every way.
The music was freely improvised and the sounds exuded were lovely, lush and nuanced in a particular way that seemed very clear in their intentionality. There’s a precision at play in this music evidenced by the trio’s great attention to detail; with an effective use of silence that is oft times intoxicating and might bring to mind (at least to me) the feeling that you might get when listening to some of the slowly evolving patterns and structures in some of Morton Feldman’s most sensuous work. MURAL presents a unique combination of timbral, harmonic and percussive effects that take the listener to a dream world of the rain forest or some other imaginary and beautiful space.
This concert is also a rare chance to hear Norwegian percussionist Ingar Zach (last in Vancouver with electro-trance trio Huntsville at the 2010 Jazz Fest and some of you might remember his appearance in Time Flies a few years back) and an even rarer chance to catch the highly underrated Australian improviser – (saxophone/flute) - Jim Denley who at 53 years of age is of a later generation than the two Norwegians and he just might be the most important improviser that you haven’t really heard. His credits go back decades and include work with some of the best including: John Butcher, Chris Burn, Roger Turner, Maggie Nicols, Eugene Chadbourne and David Moss.
These musicians have been well reviewed in the UK’s The Wire magazine by some of the best writers around such as Andy Hamilton and Brian Morton.
If you have any interest in the next generation of international improvisers; or what’s happening on the contemporary Nordic scene; or have enjoyed the music of musicians like Derek Bailey, Axel Dorner, John Russell, John Butcher; or the current lower case improvising scene in Japan and Europe – this is concert is a must!
Kim Myhr “Mural” performs Sunday, October 17, 2010 @ the Western Front
http://www.and-oar.org/pop_either_1.html
http://www.kimmyhr.com/
http://www.myspace.com/mural3
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