Writing about this album should be quite difficult for me, because I lack the detachment that’s supposedly needed for a subjective elaboration. Metaphorically, if I touched the grooves of this vinyl recording, I’d be able to recognize every tiny trace, sound, "unclean" piece of recording, the finger pressing on the black key, on the white, the bow on the string, the brush on the drum skin. I’ve followed this CD’s path since before it was born, as my artistic collaboration with Daniel Karlsson had already begun with his previous album, so I had the chance to listen to many of the tracks before they were recorded, letting images arise in my consciousness: some of them materialized in the video that turned out to be one of my favorites, “Mrs. Mermaid”.
But shall we start at the beginning? I’ll try [she wrote with a smile].
Daniel Karlsson Trio’s first album (which I reviewed here) was already a great example of new jazz. Leaving aside its declared tributes, the tracks were truly highly original and varied in their composition, and some very innovative. In this second album, again produced by Göran Petersson’s classy Brus & Knaster, the result is even more innovative and full of bubbling freshness, with a danceable, addictive, pop groove. Karlsson’s tone is once again authoritative and disrespectful of jazz rules and limits, favoring the free flow of inspiration, and solid rock Kristian Lind on bass and Fredrik Rundqvist on drums always seem to know just how to enter, underline and almost play with his ideas. The first album’s magic is repeated but in this second one the style breaks thru more, and is more consistent and recognizable beyond Karlsson’s masterful touch, confirming he is still one of the most inspired pianists in circulation. It’s not surprising that his trio has just won the most important prize in Swedish jazz, the 2014 "Jazzkatt", an award given annually by the national radio broadcaster to the best Swedish jazz composers and performers. Actually, the last 14 months have been probably the busiest in Daniel’s carrier: besides Oddjob, which still keeps him very busy, he delivered two albums with this trio, a duo album with Thomas Markusson [my review soon to come] and one with the quartet Kiosk (with Almqvist, Danemo and Spering). Larger than life!
Fusion for Fish is a positive album, without any darkness, and all the fun these musicians had playing together comes through; and even though their level of playing is exceptional and at the top, they don’t seem to take it too seriously, or to strut themselves.
After a brief stellar intro ("Preparation"), the album starts off immediately with the groovy and danceable "Cousin Cuisine" (for which I filmed an amusing video featuring Daniel’s children), introducing the playful mood of many of the songs to follow, starting with the title track "Fusion for Fish”, dynamic and supple, almost rushing. A touch of Lind’s bow was synthesized to make it almost sound like a trumpet, characterizing the entire piece.
Then we move into something calmer and roadtrippy with "Route 222", which has a somewhat Lou Reedian pace, also due to Andreas Hourdakis’s guitar arpeggio. Andreas features twice on this record: he and Karlsson are together in Magnus Öström’s lineup, and he is – incidentally – my favorite jazz guitarist. The pace goes right back up with "Freshwater Tourist", dominated again by Daniel’s innate percussive touch, alternating with one of the album’s most interesting double bass pieces by Lind. No point trying to figure out who the man is featured in the next track’s title, "Correspondence with Folke Bengtsson", because he exists only in Karlsson’s playful imagination; but the title key lies in the word "correspondence", relating to the continued and inconsistent alternation, which makes this piece seem like three separate ones, and all three very powerful.
"Paddy Tang" has an irresistible Latin pacing, again with interesting synthesized sounds derived from Lind's bow, laid over Rundqvist’s delightful percussions. And it readies us for the grand finale, the most important piece of the album: "Mrs. Mermaid". A perfect song, wriggling and appealing but heart wrenching at the same time; the bass seems to hop back and forth, and the music opens up during Hourdakis’s long beautiful solo, sliding over Rundqvist’s drums, which towards the end also carry Karlsson’s wonderful improvisation, swelling to a large, spacious finale, aided by the keyboards. A fully electronic end ("Conclusion") serves as a farewell to this beautiful work of art.
And when I asked Daniel if he had got an awareness, a direction for his own stylistic development and innovation, or if he would still follow an instinct of composition, and he obviously said he just followed his intuition so… be ready for something new for next time!
“Fusion for Fish”, Brus & Knaster, 2014
1. Preparation
2. Cousin Cuisine
3. Fusion for Fish
4. Route 222
5. Freshwater Tourist
6. Correspondence with Folke Bengtsson
7. Paddy Tang
8. Mrs Mermaid
9. Conclusion
Daniel Karlsson: piano, organ, keyboards
Kristian Lind: double bass
Fredrik Rundqvist: drums
Translation editor: Ellen McRae