Terje Rypdal - Odyssey In Studio & In Concert 3CD (2012)

Terje Rypdal s Odyssey: In Studio & In Concert is a very special release. It includes not only the complete Odyssey album (recorded 1975) on CD for the first time (restoring the long track Rolling Stone to its rightful place), but also a full disc of previously unreleased material on which Terje Rypdal s Odyssey band is augmented by the Swedish Radio Jazz Group in a 1976 live performance of Rypdal s suite Unfinished Highballs.

In the liner notes, Rypdal tells John Kelman, Odyssey was my first major band, and the music was different too because, more and more, I was writing music in two layers one thing going on with the bass and drums, and rubato playing layered over the top. It was the first time I d to connect with a band, more about writing together with improvisation. It was a challenge; I was trying to bring together the composer and the player. Rypdal s ideas of form and freedom are beautifully sculpted and registered in Manfred Eicher s widescreen production.
John Kelman: The release of Odyssey in its entirety, along with the significant revelations of Unfinished Highballs , comes when Rypdal is in a period of renewed creativity and activity, making it especially relevant as a more complete document of how confluence, at an early stage in his career, ultimately led to the further multidisciplinary junctions that keep his music as fresh and relevant as he approaches 65.
I m very happy this is coming out , Rypdal says, because I ve been asked, before Crime Scene was released, if I d written anything for big band. I think this is a very important part of my career: I m very glad Rolling Stone is finally coming out; and Unfinished Highballs will be a surprise to a lot of people. That s what I really like about this box that it can accomplish both at the same time.

Tracklist:

ODYSSEY – CD1 (ex ECM 1067)
01. Darkness Falls
02. Midnite
03. Adagio
04. Better Off Without You

ODYSSEY – CD2 (ex ECM 1067)
01. Over Birkerot
02. Fare Well
03. Ballade
04. Rolling Stone

Unfinished Highballs (previously unreleased) - CD3
01. Unfinished Highballs
02. The Golden Eye
03. Scarlet Mistress
04. Dawn
05. Dine and Dance to the Music of the Waves
06. Talking Back
07. Bright Lights – Big City

Personnel:

Terje Rypdal - electric guitar, synthesizer, soprano saxophone
Torbjørn Sunde - trombone
Brynjulf Blix - organ
Sveinung Hovensjø - bass guitar
Svein Christiansen - drums