[This review-in-brief was published in Jazz Journal in December 2014.]
Anders Banke (tenor saxophone)
Mark Solborg (guitar)
(In My) Solitude
I’m Confessin That I Love You
Fleurette Africaine
Ekko
Misterioso
Ugly Beauty
A Chaos With Some Kind of Order
I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
(55:09)
Copenhagen, 14-16 February, 2013
ILK Music ILK225
Solborg spends a lot of his time in his 4+1 quintet or 4+4+1 nonet which play intricate, expressive and abstract improvised music drawing on the jazz and avant garde traditions. So it’s both rare and fascinating to hear his delicate touch on a number of standards and songs such as Ellington’s Solitude and Fleurette Africaine, Monk’s Misterioso and (bizarrely but beautifully) Hank Williams’ I’m So Lonesome I could Cry. These sparse arrangements benefit from the openness of the duo format, with Banke’s breathy sax providing a perfect counterpoint to Solborg’s single-note lines and barely-there chording. A genuine pleasure.
“Song” is available from ILK Music and Amazon: