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The Way Ahead: Bells, Ghosts and other Saints
ByThe Scandinavian septet The Way Ahead utilizes Albert Ayler as a touchstone to amplifying this beautiful revolution, but they do so indirectly. It is not until the final track, the title track, that Ayler is directly addressed with a composition by drummer Tollef Østvang. Taking three celebrated Ayler titles, "Bells," "Ghosts" and "Saints," the septet recirculates the great man's primal constructions of brass anthems and marches. Its accomplishment are not pulled from thin air though. Members of The Way Ahead have prepared for this outing with their varied projects, saxophonist Andre Roligheten and drummer Tollef Østvang in Friends & Neighbors, saxophonist Kristoffer Berre Alberts and bassist Ola Høyer in Cortex, trombonist Mats Äleklint Quartet and vibraphonist Mattias Ståhl in various incantations of the band Angles, and trumpeter Niklas Barno in Mats Gustafsson's Fire! Orchestra.
The band stands on the shoulders of several giants here. "Headway Heat" borrows threads from both Anthony Braxton and Philip Glass' simple repeated figures. They bend and shape time without shocking scandals. Hearing Äleklint's vibraphone frame the individual solos on "Skremmerud" and "Molefonken" makes you wonder what Ayler would have sounded like with the spectral sounds enshrouding his music. Elsewhere, the compositions become mini-universes themselves. Roligheten's "Tåkefyrste" and "Lakenskrekk" play out as unworried strolls through this former battleground. One that has now become a beautiful park.
Track Listing
Eclipse; Lakenskrekk; Headway Heat; Tåkefyrste; Skremmerud; Molefonken; Bells, Ghosts And Other Saints.
Personnel
André Roligheten: tenor saxophone, clarinet: Kristoffer Alberts: alto saxophone, baritone saxophone: Niklas Barnö: trumpet: Mats Äleklint: trombone: Mattias Ståhl: vibraphone; Ola Høyer: double bass; Tollef Østvang: drums.
Album information
Title: Bells, Ghosts and other Saints | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Clean Feed Records
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