Vossabrygg

Terje Rypdal | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 14, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Universal Music Group
• ASIN: B000CRQZS2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #249,765 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Brilliant "Bitches Brew"-Inspired Excursion into New Space, March 2, 2006

By 

Stephen Silberman "writer, Wired Magazine" (SF, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Vossabrygg (Audio CD)

Norwegian guitarist Terje Rypdal seems to exist in a musical universe of his own. While he has recorded dozens of great albums for ECM -- including a pair of lovely and underrated collaborations with Miroslav Vitous and Jack DeJohnette -- his passionate, yearning soundscapes have not always seemed grounded in other musical developments happening at the time, which is often a virtue (and one that is shared by several ECM artists).

This album, however, has a recognizable reference point: Miles Davis' fierce, groundbreaking 1970 birth-of-fusion masterpiece "Bitches Brew." In paying homage to that album, Rypdal has succeeded in making a record that is both true to his own deeply personal muse and accessible to the new generation of jazz-lovers for whom "Bitches Brew" is the very pinnacle of hip.

With gorgeous trumpet throughout by Palle Mikkelborg (who collaborated with Miles on his own album "Aura"), and electronics by Rypdal's son, Marius (who made extensive use of sampled sounds from his father's discography for this performance, recorded live in 2003), the album pays homage to the vibe of Miles' music while attaining a spiritual intensity and heat all its own. It's hard not to feel a frisson of delight when the first notes of Joe Zawinul's "Pharoah's Dance" ring out at the beginning of the opening track, "Ghostdancing." Terje's solos soar like an incandescent bird of fire above the churning band performances, complete with very fine contributions on Fender Rhodes piano and Hammond B-3 organ by Stale Storlokken and Bugge Wesseltoft, and a very fluid rhythm section.

One of the high points of Rypdal's long career, this is a very fresh recording that pays tribute to the past while accelerating into the future.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars slightly mixed bag with moments of brilliance, March 3, 2006

By 

J. Matz "music snob" (chi-town, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Vossabrygg (Audio CD)

when vossabrygg, which translates to "vossa brew," is on, it's an amazing thing. Rypdal has taken the textures of miles' bitches brew and made them his own-- his guitar is absolutely searing, as is palle mikkelborg's trumpet. the opening track, "ghostdancing," is alone worth the price of admission, but several times later during the record the band rypdal has assembled gets quite near the heights they reach so early on. the album is not without faults, however, and most are at the hands of terje's son, marius. his electronic compositions, which act as segues between the longer improvised sections, are hit or miss. when they work, such as on "incognito traveller," they inject a truly seamless yet contemporary vibe into this music which for the most part could have been recoded at any time in the last 30 years. when they misfire, however, as on "hidden chapter," the bass heavy head nodding beats paired with samples of terje's choral and orchestral work come off as a bit cheeseball-- more dance club electronica than the great experimental electronic music being made in europe right now. that said, when marius' role is more of a supporting one on some of the longer tracks, his presence is a positive one.

overall, this is a great new release that sounds fresh (even though this music is three years old) and timeless at the same time. when it's on, it's as good as anything i've heard this year.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, Intoxicating, Satisfying, July 8, 2009

By 

Karl W. Nehring (Ostrander, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Vossabrygg (Audio CD)

Long-time readers will no doubt recognize the name of guitarist Terje Rypdal, who has appeared as both leader and sideman on seemingly countless ECM recordings over the years. He is joined in this live recording by Palle Mikkelborg (trumpet, synthesizer), Bugge Wesseltoft (electric piano, synthesizer), Stäle Storløkken (Hammond organ, electric piano, synthesizer), Marius Rypdal (Terje's son) (electronics, samples, turntables), Bjørn Kjellemyr (electric and acoustic basses), Jon Christensen (drums), and Paolo Vinaccia (drums).

As soon as the opening notes of this set come out from your speakers, you will be transported back more than three decades as you hear the sounds of that famous Miles Davis album, Bitches Brew. Amazing! What Rydal has done is composed a jazz set that pays tribute to that classic Miles album, yet sounds fresh and new, which is not an easy feat.

Trumpeter Mikkelborg plays some Miles-like licks, but again, it never sounds as though the band is simply trying to imitate that sound. Rypdal still sounds like Rypdal, playing high and mysterious notes that float and linger, and his son Darius supplies some contemporary-sounding samplings that bring the proceedings into the 21st century. What this music does accomplish in to recreate the way Miles's band would establish a pulse--not just a beat, not just a rhythm, but a living pulse--and build everything up from that. Again, about the only word I can think of is, "amazing." I would never have thought that Terje Rypdal, of all musician I could think of, would put together an amazing tribute to the music of Miles Davis, but he has done just that.

If you were ever a fan of Bitches Brew, you really must audition Vossabrygg. That title, by the way, translates into "Vossa Brew." An amazing, intoxicating, and satisfying brew it is.