Tracks
- Body: A Tree Merging With Itself 2. Reminder 3. Mind: Saved by Imagination 4. Free Mess 5. Spirit: Waving Flags in the Mist 6. Korall
Performers
Tim Hagans – trumpet
Karl-Martin Almqvist – tenor sax
Mathias Landæus – piano
Johnny Åman – double bass
Cornelia Nilsson – drums
Recorded on October 27, 2022, at Gula Studion, Malmö, Sweden
Release Date: April 12, 2024
Mathias Landæus was born in Sweden. He lived in New York in the 1990s, where he studied with Jaki Byard and Richie Beirach, among others. After returning to Sweden, he became a heavyweight on the Stockholm jazz scene.
He has been a member of singer Lina Nyberg’s band, Sonic Mechatronik Arkestra, the Norrbotten Big Band, and his own bands, Reunion and Mathias Landæus, House of Approximation. He has released solo albums, with his own trio, and with other groups. He founded the Glenn Miller Café and Club Underground in Stockholm, where he invited young musicians to play. He has also played with, among others, Benny Golson, Jonas Kullhammar, Magnus Lindgren, and Tim Hagans. He recently founded the musician network “Jazz for Climate Justice.” A restless artist who likes to explore new horizons, he has released twenty albums as a leader.
His latest work is titled “Path.” The chosen line-up is a trio with Landæus on piano, Johnny Åman on double bass and Cornelia Nilsson on drums, joined by three-time Grammy nominee and Blue Note Records artist Tim Hagans on trumpet and Karl-Martin Almqvist on tenor saxophone, with whom Landæus has been performing and recording for over 20 years.
Of the album’s six tracks, five are Landæus originals and one, “Free Mess,” is by Hagans.
The first track, “Body: A Tree Merging With Itself,” is an excellent start with rhythm changes that take the listener down uncharted paths (some of them Asian) and with a performance worthy of its members.
“Reminder” is a relaxed track with Landæus leading the melody and the wind instruments swaying.
Post-bop is present in “Mind: Saved by Imagination.” The double bass and drums never waver, maintaining the narrative tension.
“Free Mess” is the most complex track on the album, with a moderate freestyle dominating the scene.
“Spirit: Waving Flags in the Myst” struggles to get going and find its way; perhaps it doesn’t find it throughout its entire development, but it is a clear representation of the spirit of this work: imagination and freedom.
The album closes with “Korall,” a relaxed and intimate track that transports us to a nostalgic, even tragic world.
Landæus composed these songs with those who would perform them in mind. The quality of the performers adds to the complexity of the arrangements, a true delight for fans of the genre.
Landæus skillfully combines composition and improvisation, offering numerous proposals. This work is demanding to listen to, not easily digestible, and requires prior mental preparation, but this effort pays off.
La Habitacion del Jazz