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Atomic: Retrograde
By
Ken Vandermark
saxophoneb.1964
Fredrik Ljungkvist
saxophone, tenorb.1969

Håvard Wiik
piano
Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991
Everyone in Atomic is a leader, making the distinct collective identify of Atomic all the more remarkable. Ljungqvist's "Db Gestalt" is a jagged confluence of contrapuntal melodies, leading into a free section where his visceral baritone sets up a characteristically architectural solo from Wiik, with Broo's probing, initially lyrical but ultimately more far-reaching solo, periodically bolstered by the tune's time-staggered theme. Wiik's title track is Atomic's version of beauty: spare, with its own angular lyricism, leading into another intensifying free-for-all, where Ljungkvist's sinuous clarinet contrasts with Broo's raspy horn. Contemporary classicism meets spontaneous invention on Wiik's "Invisible Cities," where cued melodies are broken up by spare, coloristic interjections, with Nilssen-Love at his most abstract.
Less compositionally cerebral than The Vandermark 5, Atomic still shares much in common with Vandermark's highly acclaimed flagship group. Double-disc sets are risky, triple-disc sets almost unheard of outside of compilations and archival reissues, but Retrograde proves that Atomic has what it takes to sustain itself across three CDs and over two-and-a-half hours of music. The group continues to evolve a stunning contrast in sound that juxtaposes power with nuance, aggression with oblique calm, and unapologetic freedom with rock-hard, visceral groove.
Track Listing
CD1: Db Gestalt; Retrograde; Invisible Cities; Painbody; Correspondence; Sweet Ebony; King Kolax. CD2: Invisible Cities II; Papa; Don Don; Folkton; Hola Calamares; Swedish Oklahoma (In The Desert Of Love); Koloniestrase. CD3 (Live In Seattle): Crux; Db Gestalt; Painbody; Swedish Oklahoma (In The Desert Of Love); King Kolax; ABC 101b.
Personnel
Atomic
band / ensemble / orchestraFredrik Ljungkvist
saxophone, tenorMagnus Broo
trumpetH?vard Wiik
pianoPaal Nilssen-Love
drumsAlbum information
Title: Retrograde | Year Released: 2008 | Record Label: Jazzland Recordings
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About Atomic
Instrument: Band / ensemble / orchestra
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