Ocean Fanfare is an international featuring Polish, Denmark-based trumpeter Tomasz Dąbrowski, Danish sax player Sven Dam Meinild, double bass player Richard Andersson and American drummer Tyshawn Sorey, Dąbrowski recorded before with Sorey («Steps», For Tune, 2013), and collaborates with Meinild in another quartet, FREE4ARTS. This democratic quartet debut album feature the rich and resourceful vocabularies of these opinionated musicians. The compositions, written by Dąbrowski and Meinild, are rooted in the jazz oceanic legacies, the American, the Nordic and Polish ones, but suggest a much more open, fresh approach that corresponds with modern, contemporary music.

Sorey imaginative conception of time and space is the driving force of this quartet interplay. His minimalist yet rock solid pulse, with the economic contribution of Andersson, enable Dąbrowski and Meinild to explore the evocative melodies as on «4 Is 2 Tight»; but Sorey can dictate a powerful rhythm that will push Dąbrowski and Meinild into a fierce, heated duel, as on «US 12»; sketch a fractured , abstract pulse that will trigger a contemplative, touching textures, as on «Meditation», or suggest a raw swinging pulse that will push the horn players into reimagining the post-bop legacy, as on «Even Pay It». Dąbrowski and Meinild sound as one, often completing each other ideas, sometimes even blend into one voice, or brilliantly extend and expand on each other articulation, solidifying the quartet dense, emphatic conversation.

Hope that this is only the first chapter in this quartet long journey.

Eyal Hareuveni

Sven Dam Meinild (as, ts); Tomasz Dąbrowski (tp, balkan horn); Richard Andersson (b); Tyshawn Sorey (dr)