The undergrowth represents for the Norwegian-English trumpeter-composer-eductor Hayden Powell a rich, diverse, and mysterious place, full of secrets waiting to be discovered. Undergrowth is Powell’s fifth album, released after a six-year hiatus, and features a new sextet with backgrounds in jazz, folk, early music, electronic music, and free improvisation, including guitarist Stein Urheim, double bass player Jo Skaansar (the only one who has recorded before with Powell’s trio) and drummer Erik Nylander. This sextet supports and nurtures itself and creates a sonic ecosystem of its own, just like in the forest undergrowth, distinctively Scandinavian but with more ambitious musical horizons.
Powell‘s new nine, story-like compositions for Undergrowth are based on ideas developed during the last years, often at the piano, which were later further refined throughout individual sessions with the other musicians. Powell wanted to create music with a slower pace and more open structure favoring collective work over a more soloist-oriented approach often found in jazz. Powell mentions that all the new compositions were arranged in collaboration with the new sextet.
Undergrowth was recorded at the legendary Rainbow Studio in Oslo in November 2023 after a few performances and two days of rehearsals and was released by Powell’s label, Periskop. It was mixed by sax player Espen Reinertsen and mixed by sound artist Helge Sten (Deathprod). Guitarist-vocalist Jens Jørgen Carelius Krogsveen designed the cover artwork, as he did for all albums of Powell.
The patient, introspective, and lyrical atmosphere corresponds beautifully with the familiar aesthetics of Nordic jazz without diving too deep into melancholy. The melodic compositions sound simple at first but their subtle textures are elusive as they are full of nuances, layers, and shades, highlighting the sextet’s deep interplay but leaving enough space for individual interpretations. Urheim often contrasts Powell’s warm and contemplative lines, suggesting volatile, dissonant tension. Just like in the forest undergrowth where myriads of plants, insects, and other organisms support and feed the trees above.
Eyal Hareuveni
Hayden Powell (trumpet), Aksel Rønning (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophones), Mari Giske (viola), Stein Urheim (electric guitar), Jo Skaansar (double bass), Erik Nylander (drums)
