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Gard Nilssen's Acoustic Unity: To Whom Who Buys A Record
Albert Ayler
saxophone, tenor1936 - 1970
Jimi Hendrix
guitar, electric1942 - 1970
Frank Zappa
guitar, electric1940 - 1993
Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991
All these bands display a complete and admirable disregard for categorization and the jazz police. They are unfettered, high-voltage, transgressive, experimentalist affairs. They are high on dissonance, decibels and passion. They scramble synapses.
The same can be said of Acoustic Unity, an unplugged trio with which Nilssen will also be performing at Molde (augmented for the occasion by the American trumpeter
Ambrose Akinmusire
trumpetb.1982
Petter Eldh
bassb.1983
Andre Roligheten
saxophoneb.1985
The quality which above all makes To Whom Who Buys A Record so special is the intensity of interaction between the musicians. The individual performances are exalted enough but group interplay means the disc is far greater than the sum of its parts. In this respect, it evokes an earlier drums, saxophone and bass masterpiece, Albert Ayler's Spiritual Unity (ESP-Disk, 1965), which even at its most Dionysian was the work of three musicians flying in microscopically close, in-the-moment formation. Spiritual Unity is still one of the hardest acts in jazz to follow.
Remarkably, Acoustic Unity pulls it off. To Whom Who Buys A Record moves between the exuberant and the reflective, the raucous and the mellifluous, the rugged and the delicate. It works equally well as a cognitive or visceral experience. Wherever it alights on the spectrum, it is balm for the soul.
"It feels like a perfect set-up now," says Nilssen of the group. "Firehouse was our first meeting as a band. Four years have passed since then and we've played over a hundred gigs all over the world. We have kept the same loose approach but the interplay is deeper now. It takes the music to a different level. We recorded the new album in one room without amplification. In every sense it was up close and personal.
"It's about dynamics. With an acoustic lineup you can exploit the whole range of sounds and textures the instruments offer. You can peel back the nuances. Andrè and Petter know how to do that. They are always exploring new ways to play their instruments. They are totally inspiring. They make me a better musician every time we play together."
Historically, drummers have been the leaders of a surprisingly small proportion of era-defining bands. Prominent among the few are swing's
Chick Webb
drums1905 - 1939
Art Blakey
drums1919 - 1990
Tony Williams
drums1945 - 1997
Nilssen agrees that this is strange. "For me, rhythm always comes first," he says. "But drummers are still often regarded as accompanists and timekeepers rather than leaders and soloists. That is changing though. The traditional jazz-lineup has become more inclusive, there is more collective interplay. Back in the day the standard set-up was a soloist backed by a bass and drums rhythm section."
When he was developing, Nilssen listened to a lot of drummers, but not to the exclusion of other players. "Tony Williams,
Elvin Jones
drums1927 - 2004
Paul Motian
drums1931 - 2011
Max Roach
drums1925 - 2007
Roy Haynes
drums1926 - 2024
Ed Blackwell
drums1929 - 1992
Jack DeJohnette
drumsb.1942
Audun Kleive
drums
Jon Christensen
drums1943 - 2020
John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967
Alice Coltrane
piano1937 - 2007
Wayne Shorter
saxophone1933 - 2023
Keith Jarrett
pianob.1945
Paul Bley
piano1932 - 2016
Don Cherry
trumpet1936 - 1995
Ornette Coleman
saxophone, alto1930 - 2015
Bill Frisell
guitar, electricb.1951
Joni Mitchell
vocalsb.1943
Eirik Hegdal
saxophone, soprano
Christian Wallumrod
pianob.1971
In conclusion, it is worth noting the significance of the title To Whom Who Buys A Record. It is a variation of the Ornette Coleman album title To Whom Who Keeps A Record (Warner Pioneer, 1975).
"It's no secret that we have a big love for Ornette's music," says Nilssen. "But that's not why I'm alluding to that title. It's about supporting musicians by buying their records rather than downloading them for free or next to nothing. I don't want to sound like a grumpy old git, but I'm a big critic of the current streaming model. It's not good for musicians—or listeners. If musicians can't make a living, there will be less music around. Streaming is here to stay and it has definite possibilities, but the business model is destructive."
It is certain that Coleman, who knew his worth as well as any musician, and who in his mature decades did not get out of bed for anything other than an eye-wateringly high price, would agree. If 2019's streaming model is an existential threat to modern masterpieces such as To Whom Who Buys A Record, it is time to change it.
Liner Notes copyright ? 2025 Chris May.
To Whom Who Buys A Record can be purchased here.
Contact Chris May at All About Jazz.
Chris May is a senior editor of All About Jazz. He was previously the editor of the pioneering magazine Black Music & Jazz Review, and more recently editor of the style / culture / history magazine Jocks & Nerds.
Track Listing
Cherry Man; Acoustic Unity; Masarake; Omkalfatring; Broken Beauty; Rat On A Skateboard; Less Dense; Dancing Shadows; Botteknott; Elastic Circle; Jon; Skienselva.
Personnel
Additional Instrumentation
André Roligheten: saxophones, bass clarinet.
Album information
Title: To Whom Who Buys A Record | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Odin Records
Tags
Liner Notes
Chris May
To Whom Who Buys A Record
Odin Records
Gard Nilssen
sPacemoNkey
Bushman's Revenge
Albert Ayler
Amgala Temple
Jimi Hendrix
Frank Zappa
Miles Davis
Supersonic Orchestra
Acoustic Unity
ambrose akinmusire
Petter Eldh
André Roligheten
Chick Webb
Art Blakey
Tony Williams
Elvin Jones
Paul Motian
Max Roach
Roy Haynes
Ed Blackwell
Jack DeJohnette
Audun Kleive
Jon Christensen
John Coltrane
Alice Coltrane
Wayne Shorter
Keith Jarrett
Paul Bley
Don Cherry
Ornette Coleman
Bill Frisell
Joni Mitchell
Susanne Sundf?r
Eirik Hegdal
Christian Wallumr?d
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