In essence, group improvisation is a conversation. It relates to a certain point in time, its current surroundings, personal expression and the stories each performer choses to tell from their musical paths. On Sound Flower three masters of improvised music from different generations meet for the first time as a trio and their world of sound (in Danish: klangverden) is immediately captivating. You can listen to each performer and they will tell you a story of their own, or you can take a step back and listen to the unit, which is a completely different experience.
Alto saxophonist Jesper Zeuthen is a legend in Danish music, although he made his actual debut as a bandleader after he turned 60. His distinct sound has formed his career since the early 1970s in groups such as Blue Sun and New Jungle Orchestra and in performances with creative music greats such as Terry Riley, Don Cherry and Paul Motian. Anders (AC) Christensen has recorded one solo album as a leader, but has long accolades in international music with his two late mentors Paul Motian and Tomasz Stanko as well as The Raveonettes, The Savage Rose, Joe Lovano, Lee Konitz, Brian Blade, Jakob Bro and Spacelab. Danish-American Marilyn Mazur, considered a self-taught percussionist with a background in classical music and dance theater, was famously invited to play with Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Gil Evans and Jan Garbarek Group after performing with Miles and Palle Mikkelborg on Aura. Already a pioneer in the realms of world fusion, Nordic super groups and all-female bands since her early career, Mazur has expanded her knowledge of and diversity in music across five decades.
Even though Jesper Zeuthen, AC and Marilyn Mazur have had parallel paths in life, what they have in common is openness, intuition and connectivity to a world of expression and practices. Of Eastern music, folk traditions and dances, ritual music, of timbre and tone, color and contrast in sound. After dozens, or rather hundreds, of recordings in other groups, shaped by different settings and choices, Sound Flower is the first time they improvise together and the result is one of the most personal and up close recordings of these three individual voices. Produced by a common node in their music life, Jakob Bro, whose subtle watermark is simply giving space and letting the music happen without a safety net.
For the recording of this album, Zeuthen, Christensen, Mazur came together in the studio during the last chapter of a total 14 years of filming Music For Black Pigeons (directed by Jørgen Leth and Andreas Koefoed). Eventually the song Dug became the main theme for the documentary, which explored the lives and artistic processes of a unique cast of renown musicians and premiered at the 79th Venice Biennale before screenings at film and music festivals worldwide. And now the complete trio session is getting its release through the Copenhagen-based label, Loveland Music.
Jesper Zeuthen · alto saxophone
Anders Christensen · double bass
Marilyn Mazur · percussion
Composed and produced by Jakob Bro
“Sound Flower” is out via Loveland Music (November 1, 2024).
Listen/stream: https://lovelandcph.bandcamp.com
Buy on vinyl: https://shop.jakobbro.com
Cinematography: Adam Jandrup & Andreas Koefoed
Sound: Thomas Vang