Norwegian saxophonist Hakon Kornstad has played with many of the leading contemporary figures on his country’s extraordinarily fertile music scene. These include the group Wibutee, Bugge Wesseltoft, Sidsel Endresen, Eivind Aarset, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, Havard Wiik and Anja Garbarek, daughter of Jan, the man who initially put Norway on the international jazz map.

However Kornstad’s latest release is a solo album in the truest sense of the word. Kornstad plays all the instruments (tenor and bass saxophones, flute, flutonette, live electronics) and also produces. Naturally the music owes something to Jan Garbarek the founding father of the whole Norwegian scene. Recorded in the Sofienberg Church in Oslo the music is unmistakably Scandinavian in origin , reflective, unhurried and concerned with mood, colour and, texture.

The eight pieces are entirely improvised, created in the moment without overdubbing and with minimal editing, but given a surprisingly wide range of sounds by Kornstad’s inventive use of live looping techniques. In this way the music builds in layers and is surprisingly colourful. It’s often amazing to think that this is music created in real time by one musician. Master engineer Jan Erik Kongshaug also brings his magic touch to the control desk.

Kornstad’s liner notes explain that “I simply wanted to get into one mood, dwell on it and hit the record button.” Hence the title. The mood is often contemplative sometimes giving the music an ambient quality and the superb acoustics of Kornstad’s chosen location add much to the meditative atmosphere. Kornstad’s breathy tone is entirely different to Garbarek’s but there are similarities in the way both men create a mood or musical landscape and improvise within it. In it’s way this is Kornstad’s equivalent to Garbarek’s “Dis”. The fact that both musicians enjoy recording in churches could be perceived as another link between them. 

“Dwell Time” was recorded over a two day period in January 2009 and the finished album is the distillation of many hours of improvising and recording and the result of some serious culling. The opening “Still One” is zen like, layered and nuanced with Kornstad adding his tenor to a previously laid down and looped flute undertow.

“Oslo” is more song like with a percussive pulse running through it- the result of Kornstad’s slap tonguing plus his manipulation of the saxophone keys being looped to provide a constant reference point. It’s a simple technique but one that is highly effective. This is a highly melodic piece that sounds almost through composed and when played in isolation on Jazz On Three recently it sounded absolutely stunning. 

The brief “Mongrel”  is Kornstad at his most exposed with only his mellifluous tenor for company. His playing is effortlessly melodic and charming. “Noir” on the other hand finds him building in layers to create a kind of one man reed instrument ensemble complete with an underlying percussive pulse. “En Attendant Le Soleil” takes this process a stage further by adding yet more instruments (including the “flutonette”, a type of flute/clarinet hybrid) to create a shimmering wall of sound.
“Klaff” is a feature for the rarely heard bass saxophome and Kornstad utilises the body of the instrument for percussive effects. The instrument’s tone is surprisingly lithe and flexible in Kornstad’s capable hands and the piece is as compelling as any other item on an already impressive album. 

The short “Wipeout”  is the most obviously “free” piece of playing on the album. The other pieces , although freely improvised seem to have their own interior structure and sense of inner logic.

“Wipeout” seems to segue into the closing “Streamer”, which at eleven and a half minutes plus is the lengthiest track on the record. Here Kornstad seems to tie all his approaches together, formulating his own quietly rhythmic reed derived backdrop (shades of Reich and Riley) and adding layers above it. The backdrop shifts in and out of focus and the piece is almost suite like in it’s form. Some of Kornstad’s playing is surprisingly bluesy, a reflection of his background in funk and other forms of music, but the overall mood remains reflective. The album as a whole represents a unique and compelling personal and musical vision. 

“Dwell Time ” is a remarkable record full of masterful playing but with that technique serving the overall mood of the music. This album reveals hidden nuances every time you listen to it and for what is nominally a free improv record it is astonishingly melodic and often beautiful. At just over forty minutes the length is about right, any longer at this mood and pace and the attention of the listener might start to wander. 

“Dwell Time” will not appeal to those seeking conventional jazz swing but for fans of contemporary improvised music there is much to enjoy on this mellow but never bland masterpiece. The contemplative mood will be enough for some, others will try to analyse Kornstad’s amazing technique. The pieces stand up both individually and collectively and it wouldn’t surprise me to hear more of Hakon Kornstad on both the specialised jazz programmes and Late Junction. 

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