1. Shine
2. Bubbles
3. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
4. Outsourced
5. Metropolis
6. Inner Hills
7. One More Day
8. Screening Self
9. A Thousand Conclusions
Jacob Karlzon - Piano, keyboards, synthesizers
Hans Andersson - Bass
Robert Mehmet Ikis - Drums
Jacob Karlzon is one of the stars of the Scandinavian jazz scene. Now in his early forties, this accomplished Swedish pianist and composer was most
recently featured in a recorded collaboration with his long-time musical partner, singer Viktoria Tolstoy, a disc entitled A Moment Of Now. Here
he is with his trio, however.
With one exception, U2's I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, the music is all written by Karlzon. His fellow-musicians both play their
part in making this recording highly accessible. For instance, Robert Mehmet Ikis has a crisp and varied drumming style. Hans Andersson, meanwhile, is
adept and inventive on bass. All three musicians combine well on Inner Hills, a meditative piece with more than a hint of the blues. Karlzon,
though, is the star of the show. On track after track he demonstrates his sure touch and his capacity to lightly swing. His version of I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For is a melodic pleasure. Metropolis finds him on top form, too, and One More Day
represents another stand-out track. A Thousand Conclusions is similarly easy on the ear.
The memory Karlzon and his sidemen trigger for me is that of hearing EST in concert prior to Esbjorn Svensson's tragic death. The openness to pop and other
musical influences which marked EST, and indeed that unforgettable sound which packed concert halls, is evident at times here. This is not to suggest in
any way a lack of originality in Karlzon's music but rather to try and convey how good this is. If, as he suggests, his aim is to communicate across the
broad spectrum of improvised music, then he can surely count this CD a success.
James Poore
CD Reviews
ACT 9573-2
