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The Way Ahead: Bells, Ghosts and other Saints

By Mark Corroto
December 25, 2018
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The Way Ahead: Bells, Ghosts and other Saints

Perry Farrell, of the rock band Jane's Addiction, might have said/sung it best in 1988, on the track "Ted, Just Admit it..." when he whispered "Nothing's Shocking." Indeed, nothing is in the 21st century. Marcel Duchamp's painting "Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2" (1912) is mostly admired today, and certainly not the trigger for a riot. Nor is the music of

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman and

Charlie Parker

saxophone, alto
1920 - 1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Parker, or

Louis Armstrong

trumpet and vocals
1901 - 1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Louis Armstrong for that matter. Your father's and grandfather's revolutions are today symbols of beauty, to be admired and incorporated into the creation of even more beauty.

The Scandinavian septet The Way Ahead utilizes

Albert Ayler

saxophone, tenor
1936 - 1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Albert Ayler as a touchstone to amplifying this beautiful revolution, but they do so indirectly. It is not until the final track, the title track, that Ayler is directly addressed with a composition by drummer

Tollef Østvang

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Tollef ?stvang. Taking three celebrated Ayler titles, "Bells," "Ghosts" and "Saints," the septet recirculates the great man's primal constructions of brass anthems and marches. Its accomplishment are not pulled from thin air though. Members of The Way Ahead have prepared for this outing with their varied projects, saxophonist

Andre Roligheten

saxophone
b.1985

" data-original-title="" title="">Andre Roligheten and drummer

Tollef Østvang

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Tollef ?stvang in Friends & Neighbors, saxophonist

Kristoffer Berre Alberts

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Kristoffer Berre Alberts and bassist

Ola Høyer

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Ola H?yer in Cortex, trombonist

Mats Äleklint Quartet

" data-original-title="" title="">Mats ?leklint Quartet and vibraphonist

Mattias Ståhl

vibraphone
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Mattias St?hl in various incantations of the band Angles, and trumpeter

Niklas Barno

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Niklas Barno in

Mats Gustafsson

woodwinds
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Mats Gustafsson's Fire! Orchestra.

The band stands on the shoulders of several giants here. "Headway Heat" borrows threads from both

Anthony Braxton

woodwinds
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Anthony Braxton and Philip Glass' simple repeated figures. They bend and shape time without shocking scandals. Hearing ?leklint's vibraphone frame the individual solos on "Skremmerud" and "Molefonken" makes you wonder what Ayler would have sounded like with the spectral sounds enshrouding his music. Elsewhere, the compositions become mini-universes themselves. Roligheten's "T?kefyrste" and "Lakenskrekk" play out as unworried strolls through this former battleground. One that has now become a beautiful park.

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Track Listing

Eclipse; Lakenskrekk; Headway Heat; T?kefyrste; Skremmerud; Molefonken; Bells, Ghosts And Other Saints.

Personnel

The Way Ahead

André Roligheten: tenor saxophone, clarinet: Kristoffer Alberts: alto saxophone, baritone saxophone: Niklas Barn?: trumpet: Mats ?leklint: trombone: Mattias St?hl: vibraphone; Ola H?yer: double bass; Tollef ?stvang: drums.

Album information

Title: Bells, Ghosts and other Saints | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Clean Feed Records

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