Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Fire!: The Hands

Fire!: The Hands

By John Eyles
February 12, 2018
View read count

There are reasons to consider the 2018 release of The Hands as an important one for Fire! It was in 2008 that saxophonist

Mats Gustafsson

woodwinds
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Mats Gustafsson, bassist

Johan Berthling

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Johan Berthling and drummer

Andreas Werlin

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Andreas Werlin first came together as a trio with the idea of a fresh approach to improvised music. Given the groups that the three were in at the time—Gustafsson in

The Thing

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">The Thing and others, Werlin in

Wildbirds and Peacedrums

" data-original-title="" title="">Wildbirds and Peacedrums, and Berthling in

" data-original-title="" title="">Angles—it was all too easy for Fire! to be branded as a supergroup, something that the group name, complete with that exclamation mark, did nothing to contradict. Their first album, You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago (Rune Grammofon, 2009) did not dispel such talk either; if anything, its mix of jazz and post-rock encouraged it.

Despite the crispness of the trio's music, driven along by Berthling's bass, Fire! recordings have often not featured the trio alone, opting instead for collaborations with guest artists, including such luminaries as Jim O'Rourke and Oren Ambarchi on their second and third albums. In addition, from 2012 onwards there has been the added complication of the

Fire! Orchestra

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Fire! Orchestra, a star-studded ensemble of up to thirty players that was built around the trio, which has issued four albums to date and remains active. The upshot of all that activity is that The Hands is the first album for some years by the core trio Fire!

The good news is that the album's seven tracks, recorded in May 2017, in Sickla, Stockholm, display all the qualities that led many listeners to love the trio back in 2009. Right from the start of the opening title track, the music is propelled by a very unjazzlike bass riff that owes more to heavy rock. When Gustafsson's sax enters the fray, it seems as if electric guitar could be just as appropriate. All of which is reminiscent of

Cream

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Cream bassist

Jack Bruce

bass, acoustic
1943 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Jack Bruce's oft-repeated comment, "Cream was basically a free jazz trio with Eric [Clapton] playing the

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman part without knowing it. We just didn't tell him he was Ornette Coleman." Well, Gustafsson isn't Ornette but at times he could pass for 1968 Clapton... and it is such blurring of boundaries by Fire! that is at the root of their popularity. As in any successful trio, be it jazz, rock or whatever, all three players are essential ingredients that fit together as a unified whole, each dependent on the other two.

Together the seven tracks here total under thirty-seven minutes, the dark, heavy, nine-minute "To Shave the Leaves, in Red, in Black" being the only one to exceed five minutes. With Gustafsson deploying various saxophones plus electronics, Berthling on bass guitar or double bass, and Werlin employing feedback as well as percussion, there is plenty of scope to vary the soundscape as well as the mood and tempo, so the three are never close to getting into a rut. Along the way there are surprises too, including occasional sound samples such as the muffled voice that opens "When Her Lips Collapsed." The biggest surprise is saved until last; the closing track, "I Guard Her to Rest, Declaring Silence," is a slow-burning, brooding piece taken at a stately pace, allowing every note to be savoured. It is a terrific way to end a great album. Fire's best album yet? It would be almost impossible to argue otherwise...

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

The Hands; When Her Lips Collapsed; Touches Me with the Tips of Wonder; Washing Your Heart in Filth; Up And Down; To Shave the Leaves, in Red, In Black; I Guard Her to Rest, Declaring Silence.

Personnel

Mats Gustafsson

woodwinds

Mats Gustafsson: tenor, baritone and bass saxophones, live electronics; Johan Berthling: electric and double bass; Andreas Werlin: drums, percussion and feedback.

Album information

Title: The Hands | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Rune Grammofon

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Heart Love
< Previous

25th Anniversary Project
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.