Superposition is a Finnish quartet led by drummer Olavi Louhivuori and features sax players Linda Fredriksson (on alto and baritone) and Adele Sauros (and soprano and tenor) and bassist Mikael Saastamoinen. II is the sophomore album of the quartet, released four years after its debut, self-titled album that won the EMM» prize for the Finnish jazz album of the year (We Jazz, 2020), and it was recorded at E-Studio in Sipoo, Finland, in December 2020.

Superposition acts like a tight collective with no hierarchy that understands the power of developing its music together. Louhivuori is credited for four pieces, Fredriksson and Sauros with two each and Saastamoinen with one piece, but all pieces serve Superposition’s sound.

The emphatic and introspective, intimate conversational dynamics of Fredriksson and Sauros are at the center of this acoustic quartet. The atmosphere is lyrical and a bit melancholic, but the rhythm section of Louhivuori and Saastamoinen colors the simple, melodic themeד with unpredictable rhythmic patterns and keeps a stimulating yet subdued tension. The organic, democratic development of Superposition pieces is multiplied beyond each piece, and II is structured as a slow-cooking narrative that explores more playful and energetic aspects in its interplay. This approach connects Suprposition to the free jazz lineage of the likes of Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman and many more, but allows it to suggest an untimely, openly emotional, beautiful sound of its own.

Eyal Hareuveni

Olavi Louhivuori (drums), Linda Fredriksson (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone), Adele Sauros (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone), Mikael Saastamoinen (bass)