Pat is a new Norwegian, Bergen-based power trio, led by double bass player-composer Petter Asbjørnsen, who splits his time between playing contemporary music and modern jazz and featuring two local heavyweights – reeds player Kjetil Møster and drummer Øyvind Skarbø. Pat’s debut album «Supergolden» was conceived by Asbjørnsen as a raw, explosive sonic experience «that grabs the listener’s attention from start to finish», where «compositions are used as a stepping stone for improvisation without locking the performers into one idiomatic expression».

The charismatic, powerful voice of Møster, on the tenor sax and bass clarinet, is the first thing that attracts the attention, but immediately afterward, the totally open, muscular flow of Asbjørnsen’s compositions. The nine compositions do not explore complex ideas but rather focus on the expressive voices of Møster, Asbjørnsen, and Skarbø and are based on an open, fast-shifting rhythmic basis. Skarbø do spirals Pat interplay higher to deep space with his massive drumming on «Creel», but his sparse, modest playing on the lyrical «Warehouse» opens the interplay to more fragile and emotional tones. In a similar manner, Asbjørnsen’s thoughtful bowing and pizzicato work cement the lyrical, chamber atmosphere of the last pieces «Paternity» and «Mildly Frazzled».

Two more pieces, the title-piece and the following «Scheme», mark «Supergolden» gravitating towards the legacy of European and now also the Nordic high-octane free jazz. These pieces highlight the tight interplay of Pat, how strong is its rhythmic basis where Pat already sounds like an experienced, promising working trio.

Eyal Hareuveni 

Kjetil Møster (s, bcl), Petter Asbjørnsen (b), Øyvind Skarbø (dr)