Knut Riisnaes Quartet

“2nd Thoughts”

(Losen Records LOS 146-2)

Born in Oslo in 1945 saxophonist Knut Riisnaes has enjoyed a long and productive musical career. Initially influenced by American jazz giants such as Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins he has been a significant presence on the Norwegian jazz scene for many years but has released relatively few albums under his own name despite being a prolific and frequently recorded sideman. In the main Riisnaes has largely worked with his fellow countrymen, among them drummer Jon Christensen, although he has also recorded and toured with the American alto saxophonist Red Holloway and with guitarist John Scofield.

Riisnaes comes from a musical family, his sister Anne Eline is a classical pianist and his younger brother Odd (born 1953) a jazz saxophonist who is also a substantial figure on the jazz scene in Norway with several recordings as a leader to his credit.

I first heard Riisnaes’ playing on “Clouds In My Head”, bassist Arild Andersen’s classic 1975 album for ECM, to my mind far and away the best of Andersen’s early solo recordings. Riisnaes makes a substantial contribution to the success of the album thanks to the combination of his powerful tone and his fluency as a soloist.

In the intervening years I must admit that Riisnaes had rather slipped off my radar, most of his subsequent recordings haven’t been afforded the international distribution that ECM enjoys. It was therefore a pleasant surprise when this recording, Riisnaes’ first as a leader for over fifteen years, dropped through my letterbox. I was immediately reminded of “Clouds In My Head” and enjoyed dusting off and revisiting my forty year old, and now admittedly rather scratchy, vinyl.

Following this little indulgence it was then time to turn my attention to Riisnaes’ latest offering, an album featuring six studio recordings plus two tunes recorded live at different performances at the Herr Nilsen Jazz Club in Oslo in the spring of 2016. This also adds to the resonance of the album for me as I’ve actually visited the jazz club in question during a visit to Oslo in the year 2000, this part of a more extensive package tour of Norway.

With plenty of downtime in the capital I was determined to catch some live music and Herr Nilsen was one of the venues that had been recommended to me. I certainly liked the place, small and intimate it was a good place to visit for a coffee or a beer (and to check out the jazz décor) during the day and then to come back to for live music in the evening. Looking back it reminds me of the Green Note in Camden, which should give UK readers a general impression of its size and general atmosphere. The club specialises in old school jazz rather than the more cutting edge aspect of the Norwegian scene and I remember that the night we went featured a Django Reinhardt / Hot Club style band which was pleasant enough but nothing out of the ordinary. A wholly enjoyable experience though nevertheless.

During our time in Oslo we also visited the Muddy Waters Blues Club, again an enjoyable visit even if the electric blues on offer was of the ‘meat and potatoes’ variety that you can still find being played pretty much every night of the year somewhere in a British pub.

Then there was a Sunday afternoon brunch visit to Stortorvets Gjaestgiveri where we saw a band that sounded a little like one of Chris Barber’s small groups as it played a New Orleans flavoured mix of jazz and blues. To be honest this was probably the best visit of the three, the standard of musicianship was probably the best that we’d seen and the food was excellent. I also remember that we shared our table with a Norwegian couple, Ann and Svein, huge BB King fans, who both spoke impeccable English - they’d started learning it at the age of six- and who proved to be excellent company. Sadly we never exchanged addresses or kept in touch, something that would have been far less likely to have happened now in the age of social media. 

After that fairly long digression on with the business in hand and this new album from Knut Riisnaes. Since the days of “Clouds In My Head” Riisnaes’ seems to have turned back to the mainstream and the bebop influences of his youth. The majority of the pieces on “2nd Thoughts” are broadly in this style and include three originals by Anders Aarum, the pianist in Riisnaes’ quartet. The band line up is completed by bassist Jens Fossum and drummer Tom Olstad.

Riisnaes himself doesn’t appear to be a particularly prolific composer and contributed just one piece, the rest of the material coming from Richard Rogers, Mulgrew Miller, Dag Arnesen and Carl Sigman.

The album commences with the Afro-Cuban flavoured title track written by the late, great American pianist and composer Mulgrew Miller (1955-2013) and Rissnaes, specialising on tenor throughout the album, immediately reveals that his tone has none of its weight and resonance. He has a large, warm, round sound that is ideally suited to his choice of material. On this tune written by a pianist it’s actually Aarum who takes the first solo, with his pithy statement followed by the stately, authoritative sound of Riisnaes’ tenor.

The press release reveals that Riisnaes and Olstad (born 1953) are roughly of the same generation but that Aarum (born 1974) and Fossum are much younger. There’s evidence for this in Aarum’s writing, the pianist’s “Petite Prix” is busy and complex with a tricky theme that bristles with energy and is full of challenging rhythmic ideas. It has a very contemporary edge but sees the quartet responding to the challenge via a sparky but absorbing dialogue between Aarum and Olstad and an equally engaging solo from Riisnaes that acknowledges the past but is very much of the ‘now’.

The Richard Rogers penned standard “She Was Too Good To Me” allows Riisnaes the opportunity to demonstrate his superlative ballad skills in a performance filled with controlled emotion. Aarum also proves his capabilities as a lyrical pianist while Fossum and Olstad, the latter deploying brushes, provide commensurately sympathetic support.

The laid back mood continues on Aarum’s “Meet The Wickeds” which reveals a more lyrical side to the pianist’s writing with features for Fossum on bass and the composer on piano before Riisnaes’ warm toned tenor takes flight. It’s a highly melodic piece that sounds thoroughly in keeping with the standard preceding it.

Also by Aarum the lively “Sniper” is an ebullient, energetic piece of bebop introduced by a brief drum salvo from Olstad. A tricky but engaging hook provides the jumping off point for Riisnaes’ solo which sees the tenor man digging in supported by Fossum’s rapid bass walk and the bustle of Olstad’s drums. Aarum also shines as the rhythm team maintain the momentum and the piece finally resolves itself with a return to the opening boppish hook.

Riisnaes’ only contribution with the pen is the languid ballad “Touching” which finds him exploring the contours of the piece with warmth and feeling - he’s a masterful ballad player, emotive but never overly sentimental. Aarum displays similar qualities on his gently exploratory piano solo as Fossum and Olstad provide typically understated but intelligent support.

The first of the two pieces recorded live at Herr Nilsen is “Liten Vals”, a jazz waltz written by the pianist and composer Dag Arnesen (born 1950), a musician of Riisnaes’ generation and an acclaimed band leader in his own right. Fossum introduces the tune at the bass, accompanied only by the soft patter of Olstad’s brushes and it’s the bassist who is the first featured soloist, making a melodic and highly dexterous contribution. Aarum’s solo is flowingly lyrical and subtly adventurous and he’s followed by Riisnaes who stretches out and probes with gravitas and authority.

Recorded at a separate session at Herr Nilsen, the intimate venue is obviously something of a spiritual home for Riisnaes, “Crazy She Calls Me” is a ballad by the late American songwriter Carl Sigman. This version is yet another superlative example of Riisnaes’ skills as a ballad player and once more his accompanists offer him wonderfully sympathetic support with Aarum’s solo matching the lyricism and fluency of his leader. It’s perhaps appropriate that the album should conclude in this fashion, Riisnaes’ masterful ballad playing has evidently become something of a signature for him in his mature years.

Although there are no real surprises here “2nd Thoughts” is a highly enjoyable album that features a superb standard of musicianship throughout. At the age of seventy one Riisnaes is a musician who is still right on the top of his game.

The other musicians impress too, particularly Aarum, who also makes a significant contribution as a composer. He’s a musician that I’d like to check out further and online research reveals that he leads his own trio and has also worked with Jens Fossum in the quartet FAQ featuring Jens’ brother Havard on reeds plus the internationally known drummer Jarle Vespestad.
Aarum has also collaborated with other leading Norwegian jazz musicians such as bassist Mats Eilertsen and drummer Thomas Stronen as well as the veteran American saxophonist Sonny Simmons. He has accompanied vocalist Hilde Marie Asbjornsen and has been part of the bands Funky Butt, Jazzmob and The Swing Pack. Evidently a highly versatile musician Aarum is an artist whose work deserves further investigation.
   

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