" data-original-title="" title="">Bugge Wesseltoft spoke of his despair at seeing civilians suffer throughout history, unable to protect their families and children from wars. He also noted that watching such events unfold from the safety of his Norwegian homeland was painful. Wesseltoft had recently released his superb album IM (Jazzland Recordings, 2007) which found him on reflective form at the piano.

Come the pandemic of 2020, Wesseltoft was caught in a similar climate of fear to those with whom he had expressed sympathy. Having to safeguard his loved ones at all costs was a situation he dreaded most. Not surprisingly, the music he now offers from this period echoes the quietly intense sounds of IM, where a sense of cultural trauma and healing flows throughout. Even the album's title Be Am expresses the need for spiritual courage amid a context of anxiety. Indeed, the twelve sketches presented here remind us of music's pivotal role as a mental tonic.

Raised in Skien, south-west of Oslo, Wesseltoft is the founder of Jazzland, and a composer to speak of in the same breath as