Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » John Russell / St?le Liavik Solberg: No Step

John Russell / St?le Liavik Solberg: No Step

By Mark Corroto
February 13, 2014
View read count

John Russell / Ståle Liavik Solberg: No Step

Like a pair of jugglers, free improvising musicians

John Russell

guitar
1954 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">John Russell and St?le Liavik Solberg excel at keeping multiple objects in the air and in constant motion. No Step is a brief recording from May 2013, and although clocking in at just 33-minutes, the session leaves the impression these two connect with each other at multiple junctures.

Separated by two generations, Russell's guitar and Solberg's percussion work share the same DNA. The guitarist was a key figure in the founding of the London improvising scene of the 1970s, traveling a similar path as

Derek Bailey

guitar
1932 - 2005

" data-original-title="" title="">Derek Bailey. His musical vocabulary eschews convention for originality and a unique sound. Unlike Bailey, he is comfortable in solo, small settings and larger ensembles.

Russell and Solberg have toured as a duo and in quartet settings with Englishmen

John Edwards

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">John Edwards and Steve Bereford. Solberg, like Norway's other drumming export

Paal Nilssen-Love

drums
b.1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Paal Nilssen-Love subdues his punk rock inclinations for a more inward-looking, thoughtful sound here. With excellent sound, the recording of the pair intersects throughout with no conspicuous soloing to be found. Russell applies micro-bursts of itchy scratchy sound that pours forth with percussive touches and cascading notes. Unique to his approach to free music is that his sound is never masked as something else. He is comfortable making music with a guitar that sounds like a guitar.

Perhaps Russell's comfort is why he is a perfect compeer. He gives Solberg permission to rub out passages on cymbal, twiddle pulse on snare, and reply without hesitation to his notes. The percussionist's playing is equally self-possessed and imperturbable. That makes for a excellent free improvisation.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

No Step (33:05).

Personnel

John Russell / St?le Liavik Solberg

John Russell: guitar? St?le Liavik Solberg: drums, percussion.

Album information

Title: No Step | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Hispid

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Sister Cities
< Previous

Take Five With Noah Peterson
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.