The Hunting Of The Snark

We Say...

Review by Britt Robson

Here is a rare marriage of classical composition and jazz improvisation that feels less like a shotgun wedding and more like committed conjugal bliss. True to its name, the members of NYNDK take the works of 19th and 20th Century composers from New York(NY), Norway(N) and Denmark(DK) outside for a joyride. You don't need a course in music theory, or even a working knowledge of the original compositions, to revel in how the quintet enrich the tone poems of Charles Ives, playfully twist Arne Nordheim's title track, or abet the bucolic beauty of Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor with sonorous horns and supple rhythms. Each of the half-dozen composers are also feted with a brisk song (the longest is 3:04) titled after their first name, which acts like a deep massage, dissolving calcified notions about the structure of musical hybrids.

All the members of NYNDK have estimable jazz credentials. Trombonist Chris Washburne is probably the best known — especially for his piquant Latin jazz stylings. But if there is an MVP on Snark, it's Ole Mathisen, whose formidable facility on various saxophones and clarinet expand the band's tonal and harmonic palette enough to honor the intent of the various composers. Ole's brother, bassist Per Mathisen, combines with guest drummer Tony Moreno and especially pianist Soren Muller for a sublime rhythm section that can play hopscotch bebop or approximate a sweeping symphonic crescendo with equal aplomb.

The commercial dilemma for adventurous cross-pollinations like The Hunting of the Snark is that they alienate genre purists without stirring enough attention to snag the savvy, curious listeners who are their natural audience. Snark deserves the chance to open your mind as it gladdens your mood.