ORD
Hemligheter på vägen
Swedeb Havtorn Records HR066 CD (2022)
ORD’s first album is part improvisation, part singer-songwriter, part composition for voice, part repurposing of Tomas Tranströmer’s poems and part chamber jazz odyssey. I’m not used to finding such a unique proposition on my desk, but I wholeheartedly welcome the uncommon, mostly, so here goes. ORD is a quintet of Karin Johanssen on piano, prepared piano, composition and arrangements, Jenny Willén; vocals / voice, trombonist Niclas Rydh, Gunnel Samuelsson on bass clarinet and tenor saxophone, and Hasse Westling on double bass. “Hemligheter på vägen” is a collection of eerie songs and soundworlds. The title translates as “Secrets Of The Road”. Hmm. The girl looking out at us from the cover is the ten-year-old Karin Johanssen. I’m not sure what the significance of this is. Nice anorak though. The illustrator and artist Jenny Svenberg Bunnel provides the following insight in the accompanying press release: “…we carry all our different ages and memories with us, they walk next to us each day, but there are gaps between moments of recognition…”
Let’s proceed. The material has intriguing spoken word sections, and if pushed I would rather use the word “drifting” rather than “ambient” to describe the pleasant ensemble extemporisations mixed in between some (to me) rather unchallenging chamber jazz. The first piece, “April och tystnad” has its text taken from Memories Look At Me by Tomas Tranströmer. This is true also of another five of the pieces. The sleevenotes thank to Monica Tranströmer. Vocalist Jenny Willén contributes the text to “Som att du sovit lange”. There is a vague air of Miles Davis’ In A Silent Way in mood on “Vintern former” at least that is what the muted trumpet suggests to me. There is some nice free playing on “Tradet och skyn” although I have to say I’m a little suspicious of “composers” who direct group improvisation for a section of material and then take all the credit, but I’m not sure that’s entirely the case here. The words on “Just A Second From Now” are written by Karin Johanssen and sung in English. Jazz balladry, if you like that sort of thing – but wait! The piece devolves into pretty piano notes and then the musicians are free, free, free… Stop, the vocals are back: “just a second from now a thousand years anyhow…” okay. Sorry, I’m mentally filing this under “dinner party music” now.
So, a fairly lightweight item, by no means without some good qualities but I’m pretty lukewarm about this item, on the other hand, you may like it. Your mileage may vary, as they say. Karin Johansson can also be heard in her duo with Lisen Rylander Löve; in Quagmire with Nina de Heney and Henrik Wartel; in the duo with Finn Loxbo; Jonny Wartel 4; and in many other collaborations.