Customer Reviews

Dig It

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I encourage anyone who listens to jazz & has not yet bought a copy of Frode Berg's CD "Dig It", to order a copy. This Quartet, a lead player with rhythm section of lead players, can hear what is being played while interpreting music that truly appeals to them. They invent interesting phrases, play engaging melodies over Standards & contemporary inspired original tunes. Whether you prefer Bebop, Free, Cool ... insert appropriate label here ... or The Bad Plus' 'Gold Medalist", this recording will catch & hold your interest for a long time.

Beautiful jazz, played beautifully. The cut, "Giant Steps", is worth the price of admission. Frode's interpretation is right on. The rest of the album is a delight. I was afraid this type jazz was getting homogenized out of existence. Its good to see that its no only still here, but is being taken to new heights. Well spent money.

The opening track 41b (Roy Powell) begins with a solo double bass cadenza that immediately struck me as a suitable homage to the late Charles Mingus. However, before you can get too swept away by the beautiful bass tone (with just the right amount of reverb), drummer Andreas Bye enters with a simple latin swing pattern that transports the listener from the origins of the album (Frode Berg's solo bass playing) to the ensemble setting as Petter Wettre joins in on tenor saxophone. Before you can say "Hey, Where's the Piano?" in comes Roy Powell himself, as if perfectly timed. In the first minute of the album, the ensemble is introduced with Frode leading the pack. After an attention holding seven minutes that made me want to reach for my old jazz records and revel in the period that this group obviously takes great inspiration from, the band launches into the fast unison lines that open Sir Nuke (the first of Berg's amazing compositions on Dig It). This driving tempo is continued right through Berg's solo - an amazing showcase of chops, style and pure emotion.

The next track, bearing the somewhat cheeky title of Another Song, could as easily be an old jazz standard as the soundtrack to a romantic comedy. Berg is shown to be just as competent on the acoustic bass as the electric - virtuosic in sections, laid back and supportive in the others - in my opinion, the mark of a good bassist.

The first eight seconds of the title track Dig It! made me simultaneous think both "what the..." and "cool". This introduction alludes perfectly to what is to come. The melodic line is disjointed in a way that keeps you on your toes without putting you off, followed by a double time solo section in which Petter Wettre illustrates a perfect equilibrium between complex busy passages and splendidly placed space.

This style is continued somewhat in I'm Gone which both features drummer Andrews Bye and the way in which this ensemble works so perfectly together. Frode once again shows off his talent as a composer in his solo, which melds the percussive and melodic sides of the acoustic bass ideally while supporting Bye's rhythmic presence. Hocum begins by showing us the way in which order can come from chaos as Roy Powell moves from improvisation to a more restrained piano vamp. However, throughout the song, Powell's fills around the melody maintain this sense of unpredictability.

Like any jazz fan, I tend to move directly towards what I know best when listening to a new album. As soon as I saw that Giant Steps was featured, it had to be the next song I played. The track opens with a funky bass line in the lower registers that draw you in to the 7/8 feel of the song so much that you begin to stop noticing it and it is within this mindset that the song's arrangement can be truly revealed.

From the deep grooving notes of the electric bass to the groaning of the acoustic, Victor (dedicated to Frode's son) begins with a grimy harmonic sustained note that can be likened to the growl of a Tuvan throat singer. Once this beautifully dirty sound has drawn you in, Frode moves to the higher registers with a fluttering line that further strengthens the obvious ties to folk music. The music in itself conjures up beautiful images of the Norwegian landscape and once this mood has been established, the beauty of the double bass is revealed in the smooth arco melodies. Then, just as they did in the opening track, the band introduces themselves once again showing just how well this group can work together in any form.

He said "Dig It!" and I think I'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't. This album is not only a perfect showcase of Frode Berg's obviously virtuosic talent, it is a brilliant display of his talent as an composer, arranger and ensemble member. Petter Wettre, Roy Powell and Andreas Bye seem to be the perfect finishing touches to what is an amazing debut album.