Gig review/ Andorra

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Andorra/ Live in Mumbai

Genre: Modern jazz

Details; NMACC Cube, April 3

Rating: ****

There's something about north European jazz bands that gives them a unique touch. Maybe it's the adventurous in playing or the level of improvisation. Danish quintet Andorra proved that once again at the Cube theatre of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) on Thursday.

On a nine-concert tour of the country, organised by Gatecrash India, the band gave a bravura display on their Mumbai leg. From the very line-up, one would have expected some magic, and they gave exactly that. There were Mads La Cour on flugelhorn, Simon Krebs on guitar and Peter Kohlmetz Moller on keyboards, assisted on rhythm by bassist Morten Jorgenssen and drummer Nikolaj Bundvig.

Though the artistes have known each other from music school 20 years ago, this band is only five years old, with three album releases - the self-titled debut, Current and their February release III. They belong to Odense, the hometown of legendary author Hans Christian Anderson. Naturally, the first track 'The Poet' was dedicated to him, and the follow-up 'Mother Tongue' to their country.

The sound on the first two tracks was awry, with an unfriendly creak heard on the flugelhorn. After a few plugs were adjusted, it was all smooth, and the energy just built up. The set was a good mix of tunes from the three albums, with guitarist Krebs announcing the titles and giving their background. They played all tunes from the debut album in phases and using a different sequence.

'Lyleland', which opens the new album, was dedicated to great pianist Lyle Mays, part of guitarist Pat Metheny's group, and 'The Abandoned Circus' was about an old circus which had run into losses. The tracks 'Mingus', in memory of great bandleader and bassist Charles Mingus, and 'Chroma & Luma', with its supple guitar parts, upped the tempo. 'Current' was more intricate, and 'Forecast' was like the Danish weather, which as Krebs said, "We left for this tour when spring was announced, but the temperature was five degrees Celsius." The group concluded with 'Travelling', blending many flavours, and after taking a bow, did an encore with 'Manifolk', inspired by Danish folk melodies. 

If one were to categorise the sound, 'modern, cinematic jazz' would be appropriate. The notable thing was how the instruments blended seamlessly into each other, and yet made way for brisk solos. While the guitar and keyboards had some melodic parts, a special flavour was brought by the flugelhorn, which is more mellow than its family member trumpet. Some parts were reminiscent of the great flugelhorn player Chuck Mangione in tone and melody. The drummer maintained a tight groove, and the bassist was on target, never too flashy but in sync with the tune.

From the sheer expansiveness and scale of the music, one would imagine the larger Studio theatre of the NMACC would be a better choice. But things worked right at the Cube, which drew an appreciative audience. It was good to see a fair mix of young and senior in the crowd.

The tour has also taken Andorra to two Piano Man outlets in Delhi-NCR, two venues in Goa, Pune, True School Of Music in Karjat and two gigs in Windmills Bengaluru. Such multi-city tours are healthy for Indian jazz and one hopes more will follow.