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Konrad Agnas: Rite Of Passage

By Mark Corroto
April 27, 2023
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For

Konrad Agnas

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Konrad Agnas it is all about the pulse, and you may be thinking it is because his day job description is drummer. We have heard him at the drum set in

Alberto Pinton

saxophone, baritone
b.1962

" data-original-title="" title="">Alberto Pinton's trios, quartet, and sextet,

" data-original-title="" title="">Johan Lindstrom's Septett, a large version of the Angles, and various other assemblages. With Rite Of Passage he leads from his drum seat plus steps out with co-production, composing credits, and some synthesizer for this session. Maybe the American equivalent to this Swedish drummer is

Mark Guiliana

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Mark Guiliana. Both musicians are musical omnivores, inclined to collect sounds from both the orthodox jazz canon and also those from contemporary non-jazz sources.

The brief opening track "Intro," the two interstitial compositions " Untitled 1972" and " Untitled 1971," and the ending few seconds of "Siwa" draw as much from hip-hop and electronic sources as they do from jazz. Agnas extends this galvanized approach with the title track, which draws a connection to

Joe Zawinul

keyboards
1932 - 2007

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Zawinul's experiments in Weather Report and post-Weather Report music. Agnas lays down a heavy pulse via Torbj?rn Zetterberg's bass and his drumming, then builds upon that with organ riffs and bass clarinet to create a grooved-out tribal sound. That same Zawinul feel permeates "Weather Report" with synth washes and the solitary tenor saxophone sounds of

Per Texas Johansson

woodwinds

" data-original-title="" title="">Per Texas Johansson. The dexterity alluded to earlier is evident in other tracks. "Siwa" opens as a traditional blues before building a slick

Gil Evans

composer / conductor
1912 - 1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Gil Evans-like arrangement, and "Bismillah" adds Vilhelm Bromander's tanpura, an Indian string instrument, to create a sort of

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis-meets-world-music fusion moment. We even get a taste of

Harry Partch

composer / conductor
1901 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Harry Partch with "Arthur And Jeremiah," where odd sounds are produced from echoey beats and familiar instruments creating unfamiliar sounds. This is inventive and compelling music.

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Track Listing

Intro; M?nen och Vargen; Don Rhythmicon; Untitled 1972; Siwa; Half Year Song; Bismillah; Arthur and Jeremiah; Untitled 1971; Rite of Passage.

Personnel

Konrad Agnas

drums

Johan Graden

piano

Per Texas Johansson

woodwinds

Torbjorn Zetterberg

bass, acoustic

Additional Instrumentation

Konrad Agnas: OP1 Synthesizer; Johan Graden: Hammond B3 organ; Per Texas Johansson: saxophones, bass clarinet, flutes; on track 7: Vilhelm Bromander: tanpura.

Album information

Title: Rite of Passage | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Self Produced

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