Mette Henriette - Mette Henriette (2015)

The untitled ECM double-album debut of young Norwegian saxophonist, composer and improviser Mette Henriette Martedatter Rølvåg is an arrestingly original musical statement. 'Jazz' players and 'classical' players are drawn together in her ensembles, but the music shapes its own world, outside genre definitions. Mette Henriette is interlacing form and freedom in fresh ways here, as her intense and focused tenor saxophone sound moves inside compositions of sometimes disarming fragility. In this music, vulnerability can be as potent a force as full-tilt blowing, but there is a place for both. The recording's expressive and emotional range is wide. Disc one here features trio music with Mette Henriette, pianist Johan Lindvall and cellist Katrine Schiøtt. Disc two has Mette's "sinfonietta" with thirteen players. Line-up of the larger group includes some names familiar to ECM listeners - trumpeter Eivind Lønning, drummer Per Oddvar Johansen, and the members of the Cikada Quartet - all pooling creative energies to serve Mette's music. The album was recorded at sessions in Oslo in May and August 2014, and produced by Manfred Eicher.

Tracklist:

CD1:
1. So 01:41
2. .oOo. 03:47
3. The Taboo 01:58
4. All Ears 03:57
5. But Careful 01:03
6. Beneath You 03:13
7. Once 03:55
8. We Were To 00:57
9. 3 - 4 - 5 02:02
10. Hi Dive 02:54
11. A Void 04:31
12. The Lost One 01:14
13. In Circles 03:44
14. I Do 03:52
15. O 03:18

Personnel:

Mette Henriette: saxophone
Katrine Schiøtt: cello
Johan Lindvall: piano

CD2:
1. Passé 05:01
2. Pearl Rafter 01:05
3. Veils Ever After 01:56
4. Unfold 00:43
5. Wildheart 05:46
6. Strangers by Midday 02:51
7. Late à la carte 04:11
8. So It Is 01:38
9. ? 03:34
10. True 00:47
11. This Will Pass Too 01:01
12. But We Did 03:50
13. I 08:09
14. Breathe 04:01
15. Off the Beat 01:53
16. Wind on Rocks 06:34
17. Bare Blacker Rum 01:52
18. & the Silver Fox 01:42
19. Behold 01:01
20. Better Unheard (Yet to Be Hold) 01:12

Personnel:

Mette Henriette: saxophone
Eivind Lønning: trumpet
Henrik Nørstebø: trombone
Andreas Rokseth: bandoneon
Johan Lindvall: piano
Sara Övinge: violin
Karin Hellqvist: violin
Odd Hannisdal: violin
Bendik Bjørnstad Foss: viola
Ingvild Nesdal Sandnes: violoncello
Katrine Schiøtt: violincello
Per Zanussi: bass
Per Oddvar Johansen: drums, saw