Little North – While You Wait

The least we can say is that this band’s name clearly asserts its belonging to what we’ve come to call the “Nordic sound”, whose representatives abound on labels such as ECM, ACT, Hubro…

So, what do these three Danish musicians and their Norwegian guest bring to the table compared with what their elders have already expressed under this name? Undoubtedly, an assertive taste for melodic sobriety that makes each of the eight themes in their repertoire, composed collectively, sound like so many little songs in which the veiled, misty timbre of the trumpet seems like the voice of a singer.

In exclusively slow tempos, where the melody stretches out, leaving space for silence, the members of the original trio (who had already published a first opus in 2020) function as sidemen to the trumpeter, rarely expressing themselves solo.

And when, towards the end of the record, the trumpet becomes more raucous on a more lively tune, we are surprised to discover another facet of the group that breaks with the uniformity of the rest of the repertoire.

Fans of more muscular, swinging jazz will find it hard to subscribe to this slightly Jansenist aesthetic, but it will delight those charmed by Nordic landscapes, whether sonic or visual. In any case, there’s no doubting the sincerity of these young Scandinavian musicians, who have forged a group sound all their own, without trying to please as many people as possible.