TORDENSKJOLDS SOLDATER - LOVE (LP)

"at the end of the 1960s, the jazz scene in Denmark was changing rapidly. The golden age, in which many of the great American musicians lived or played there for long periods, was slowly coming to an end, and in the 1970s American groups tended to play just one gig before moving on to another international gig. At the same time, many young Danish musicians began to experiment with mixing elements of rock, soul, latin, world music and modern jazz traditions. North of Copenhagen, in the suburb of Holte, there was a cinema called the Reprise Theatre, which promoted the arts in the area by holding art exhibitions and other events and, in the Autumn of 1967, opened the theatre for a series of jazz concerts with no restrictions on musical content or style. Many young musicians presented their music here, from bebop and blues to more experimental music. The musicians in Tordenskjolds Soldater were among the core of musicians who played there regularly. The group was formed in October 1969 by musicians who could be heard in many different jazz groups playing at Reprisen. The members of Tordenskjolds Soldater were the fine saxophonist Jesper Nehammer, later a member of the Danish Radio Jazz Group and orchestras led by trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg. Henrik Hove and Jon Finsen were regulars on the Reprise scene for a long time and played with Ole Matthiessen in many orchestras. Hove/Matthiessen for example in the Carsten Meinert Quartet and C.M. Music Train and Finsen/Matthiessen in John Tchicai's Cadentia Nova Danica. In April 1970 the activities at Reprisen came to an end, but at the same time the Montmartre Jazzhouse changed its programming, relying more on local Danish jazz groups playing for longer periods. Tordenskjolds Soldater played at Montmartre every Monday from May to October 1970, and it was during this period that these recordings were made, the same time of heightened activity when the band recorded its lone commercial release, "Peace", for the legendary imprint Spectator Records. "Love", Tordenskjolds Soldater's first new LP in more than 50 years, includes previously unrelease recordings filled with deep grooves and driving rhythms like the previous "Peace" album. The LP starts with "Native Land", a joyous explosion built around the visionary piano playing of Ole Mathiessen and hypnotic cycles by Henrik Hove and Jon Finsen, with soulful lines by Jesper Nehammer on sax. "Memoires of Isadora Duncan" is the only track which was featured on "Peace", but the aternate version presented here includes Ole Matthiessen winding through the intoxicating melodies of Nehammer on Fender Rhodes. From here on, every track was previously unpublished. The first side hits souring heights as the band locks in with "Dah Dah", a piece that makes subtle nods to joyous territory threading avant-garde jazz with a deep sense of soulfulness. The second side presents "Labor of Love", subtly infusing the band's driving rhythms with a Latin flavor as the group flies high on the wing of Matthiessen's piano. Coming next is the sorrowful balladry of "Old Jewish Song", a stunning modal piece working its way in a slow, rumbling, glacial pace toward the album's final, joyous explosion of "The Z Song", yet another swaying spiritual jazz" (label info)