Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Bobo Stenson Trio: Sphere

Bobo Stenson Trio: Sphere

By Mike Jurkovic
March 20, 2023
View read count

Bobo Stenson

piano
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Bobo Stenson first rose to recognition as a sideman and in-house pianist in the late '60s with saxophonist

Sonny Rollins

saxophone
b.1930

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Rollins, vibraphonist

Gary Burton

vibraphone
b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">Gary Burton, and saxophonist

Charles Lloyd

saxophone
b.1938

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Lloyd, among many others. But it was in 1971, alongside drummer

" data-original-title="" title="">Jon Christensen, that he established his subtle, humorous shadings and folkish, earthy style with Underwear (ECM). Yet Stenson's intimate articulations are, for the most part, about as familiar to the less-than-fixated jazz world at large as one of those comets or asteroids blaze across the sky every umpteenth century or so.

That is not to say there have not been several masterful releases bearing his brand. From saxophonist

Jan Garbarek

saxophone
b.1947

" data-original-title="" title="">Jan Garbarek's SART (ECM, 1971), to Lloyd's All My Relations (ECM, 1991), and the handful of trio recordings—War Orphans (ECM, 1998), Serenity (ECM,2000), and Contra la Indecisi��n (ECM, 2018) that all boast Stenson's lyrical assumptions of time, space, orbit, and feel.

So too the nine neatly curated tracks of Sphere. Working again with long-time trio mates, double bassist

Anders Jormin

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Anders Jormin, whose atmospheric classicism serves as both stage design and interpreter of Stenson's stoicism, and the uncluttered syncopations and whispers of drummer

Jon Falt

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Jon Falt, Stenson foregoes his own original material to investigate other avenues of thought on Sphere.

Choosing instead to create an overall introspective study, Stenson engages the musings of such composers as Sibelius, (the unerringly abstract "Valsette op. 40/1"), the evolving melodics of Per N?rg?rd, (the opening hymn and its reprise "You Shall Plant a Tree") and the choral chamber mysteries of Sven-Erik B?ck (the crystal meditation of "Communion Psalm," and the deceptively vital "Spring" to explore and expand the trio's singular, inquisitive alchemy.

Jormin's own harmonic ellipses, "Unquestioned Answer—Charles Ives In Memoriam" and "Kingdom of Coldness," when coupled with his focused yet airy arrangements of Jung-Hee Woo's luminously delicate "The Red Flower" and late Norwegian pianist Alfred Janson's curiously playful "Ky and the Beautiful Madame Ky" complete a recording resonant and indelible. A recording that plays to all the individual strengths of Stenson, Jormin, and F?lt, to make Sphere a unique and vital listening experience.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

You Shall Plant a Tree; Unquestioned Answer--Charles Ives in Memoriam; Spring; Kingdom of Coldness; Communium Psalm; The Red Flower; Ky and Beautiful Madame Ky; Valsette, Op. 40/1; You Shall Plant a Tree.

Personnel

Bobo Stenson

piano

Anders Jormin

bass

Jon Falt

drums

Album information

Title: Sphere | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: ECM Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Melanie De Biasio: The Flow
< Previous

Spelunker
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.