WAVES

Although all the tracks on this album tend to pull from the same sources, each song sounds unique. As usual Rypdal is heavily influenced by free jazz fusion such as early Weather Report and Tony Williams, as well as psychedelic rockers such as Hillage, Gilmour, Hendrix and the mid-70s version of Miles band.

The song Per Ulv opens with a proto-ambient techno drum machine pattern, then adds real drums and alternates between typical Rypdal sustained minor key melodies and late 70s Weather Report style fusion-bop swing. The next song Karusell is very spacious and ambient and features a slow trumpet melody backed by Rypdal's always unique neo-classical chord changes. Unfortunately this song doesn't sustaim momentum and gets a bit dull after a while. This sort of slow "moment form" jazz sounded a lot fresher in the 70s.

Stenskoven is a bizarre bit of three time rock cabaret that is a cross between later Doors and Nina Rota, but it is played with a triple track guitar plus synth sound reminiscent of Queen at their bombastic worst, especially when the barroom piano is added at the end. It is definitley a fun song in a sarcastic sort of way. Next comes Waves, the sort of song you expect from Terje, a beautiful sustained guitar melody backed by simple held chords on the polysynth.

The Dain Curse sounds starts off like a direct tribute to early Weather Report with some very funky melodic bass lines ala Alphonso Johnson. As the jam picks up steam they sound a lot like some of Miles' more rocking moments with Terje supplying the McLaughlin style guitar and Palle the screaming trumpet counterpoint. The song closes with more or Rypdal's melancholy melodies played by Palle on the trumpet over a funky free-jazz rhythm.

The album closes with Charisma which sounds a lot like the spaced out mellow moments on Miles' Agharta album. Terje pays tribute to the amazing guitar duo on that album by playing the well spaced rhythmic licks of Reggie Lucas as well as the searing solo style of Pete Cosey, Palle adds the melancholy trumpet answers to the bluesy guitar solo.

If you like 70s psychedelic jazz with some European space-rock influence, this is the one.

Guitar, drums, trumpet and bass are the most prominant instruments on this 1978 release. There's quite a bit of meandering and atmosphere on this album.Terje wrote all the tracks except "Stenskoven" which was written by the trumpet player.

"Per Ulv" opens with percussion as mournful sounding guitar sounds come in around a minute. The trumpet takes over for the guitar 2 1/2 minutes in and they continue to "trade up" while percussion continues throughout. "Karussell" opens with some lazy trumpet and there's not a lot going on here with lots of atmosphere as other sounds come and go. We start to get a laid back trumpet-led melody later. "Stenskoven" opens with guitar then piano takes over after 1 1/2 minutes. Trumpet before 2 1/2 minutes. Piano is back later.

"Waves" opens with guitar sounds enveloped with lots of atmosphere. Light drums and cymbals join in. Trumpet before 3 minutes. It settles right down 4 1/2 minutes in to the end. "The Dain Curse" is kind of funky early with bass, guitar and light drums leading the way. Trumpet before 2 minutes. Great sound after 3 1/2 minutes,there's so much going on, quite intense. It settles back with the trumpet playing a relaxed melody. "Charisma" is my second favourite. It opens with atmosphere galore and then the guitar comes in first only to be taken over by trumpet. They continue to trade off.

Good album but a little difficult for me to really get into.

Almost classic Terje Rypdal early album, influenced by jazz (from bop till free-jazz), soundtrack music, some exotic rhythms and some rock elements. With usual very atmospheric down tempo clear sound and some cool Nordic vibrations in space all around.

Terje plays with more or less his regular team, including great trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg, whose participation on this album is very important. For late 70-s, this album contains some innovative technologies in jazz, combining very light drum machine rhythms with live drummer's work on some African rhythm structures. Another interesting thing - Mikkelborg's trumpet soloing. Being one of greatest names in Norways's trumpet school, and for years connected with German ECM label at the same time, it is not strange how his trumpet sounds on this recordings.

Very aerial, dreamy, cool - as from Nordic saga, but at the same time with light, but always presented Miles Davis legacy in sound. And - there I can clearly hear the roots of another generation's great Norwegian trumpeter - Nils Petter Molvaer, one of the greatest name in progressive nu.jazz.

Possibly one of most jazziest Terje album, it is one of his greatest works ever as well. With slight doze of melodic neo-classic ( or soundtracks sound from 60-s) sound, it stays very accessible, but complex and multilayered listening at the same time. Very recommended!

Really 4,5!

This is one of old 'Terje's' jazzier releases. I still find it one of his best, if not 'the' best in the 6 albums I've heard by this talented Norwegian guitarist. It's all quite 'Weather Report' with that fret-less bass sound, but has a more European feel throughout.

The opener 'Per Ulv' has a great sense of production, where all instruments are heard very clearly. This is more than likely because he was on the classy 'ECM' label who barely put a foot wrong in engineering and recording techniques. Moments of amusement follow with a British 1970's quiz show theme with hilarious trumpets, it somehow remains cool, even in 2015. Still - it reminds me of 'Sale of the Century' and the early 'Blankety Blank' TV shows.

There's a nice feeling of relaxation which runs through this whole album. It's all very laid back and easy to take in one listen. Pleasant stuff indeed. Throughout 'Waves' Rypdal slowly plucks at electric guitar strings that are hugely reverbed and drawn out and sound far more modern than the year 1978 would suggest. 'Waves' makes good late night listening with lots of floating synths and sprinklings of soft percussion.

I'm sure I can subconsciously hear some good old ring modulators at play on some tracks which is always a good thing, especially on an unobtrusive jazz album.

Like all the recordings I've heard by Rypdal, this also is entirely instrumental and is no worse off for it. Vocals would only detract from the prettiness at play on this more than worthy album of Jazz Fusion. A sleepy drowse-fest.

Terje Rypdal is a notable long-term musician in Norway's fusion scene. This seventh album contains six tracks and features Rypdal on electric guitar and synths, Palle Mikkelborg on trumpet, flugelhorn and synths plus the rhythm section of Sveinung Hovensjo and Jon Christensen.

'Per Ulv' is groovy with busy constant percussion, while guitar and trumpet make the composition airy. (BTW, on Rypdal's 1995 album If Mountains Could Sing is a track called 'The Return of Per Ulv' which is fantastic. Compared to that, this one was slightly disappointing.) On a blindfold test it would be fairly easy to place the music on the late seventies, even though the thick use of synths brings some 80's flavour as well. There's some resemblance to the late 70's or the 80's PEKKA POHJOLA, except that Pekka's music would probably have more emotion.

'Karusell', unlike one would expect from such title, is a slow-paced, ethereal, ambient piece starring trumpet in a lead role, at first almost free of percussion (mostly just some light cymbals). Might be a bit sleepy for an average fusion listener, but it is fairly pleasant for a patient, ambient-minded listener. 'Stenskoven' is the shortest track and composed by Mikkelborg whereas all the others are written by Rypdal. Curiously this one has a carousel-like feel, not 'Karusell'. Again, it reminds me of some lighter 80's tracks of Pekka Pohjola, on the Space Waltz album for example.

'Waves' is the highlight, very atmospheric and spacey. Here you get a lot of the meditative electric guitar sound so distinctively Rypdal's. 'The Dain Curse' is, like 'Per Ulv', a mixture of steady funkiness and ambientish soloing especially for the trumpet. Hmm, nice, but there could be more musical progression for nearly nine minutes. 'Charisma' is the other highlight (I'm backing Mellotron Storm in this opinion), a slow, cinematic epic of delicate atmosphere. The dialogue-like contributions of electric guitar and trumpet make the piece beautiful.

My rating is 3½ stars, and in theory it could have been rounded up to four. I haven't heard very many Rypdal albums (for years I haven't been listening to him altogether), and this one might very well be on the better side of the scale. But for leaving me slightly cold right now, three stars will do. My favourite Norwegian is still Jan Garbarek. Nevertheless, warmly recommended to those who are into ambient-oriented modern fusion.

Terje Rypdal from Norway grew out of the sixties pop movement and became an established name in jazz / fusion at the turn of the decade. Eventually Rypdal would become a frontman of the ECM style jazz during the seventies, of which this record 'Waves' is a good example. With his ARP synth Rypdal lays down carpets of dark spacey chord progressions whilst letting the bass and drum creating most of rhythms. His lead guitar tone reminds me a bit of the electric guitar of Steve Hackett, but of course his choice of notes is more dissonant and experimental. His playing is expressive with heavy vibrato's on important notes. He never shreds like most of the fusion guitarist do. A good display of willful and thoughtful musicianship. The leads by Palle Mikkelborg on trumpet and flugelhorn are equally important and add to the spacey dark atmosphere. The overall impact of the record is between that of a great soundtrack (think of 'Bladerunner') and an exciting prog-fusion record (perhaps a bit like Brand X). I like it much better than his 1971 'Terje Rypdal' soundscape drenched album, which I though was rather uneventful. The recording quality of 'Waves' is simply outstanding. To the point where it is almost impossible to believe it was recorded in 1978. A broad high-fi recording sound would be an important feature of the jazz records released on the ECM Records label. I really like this record and I hope some other vinyl reprints of his early career will appear soon.