Their description in the programme describes them as
anarchic and anarchic they were! An excellently weird start to their set with Två was the maximum capacity for
polyphonic New Orleans style improvisation. Whilst there may only be seven of
these supremely talented musicians, there must have been melodies in triple
figures bashing against each other at the opening of this uproarious set! The listeners’
senses were assaulted with noise, extended techniques and literally chaos for
what felt like an age, until it stopped as abruptly as it began and pianist Jeppe Zeeberg took the mic to address
the bewildered but energised crowd. As it unfolded, the very first wisecrack
made was to the sound engineer; a request to refine some levels between the
rhythm section, followed by a sweet smile and the assurance he was “doing
great”. Today’s audience got 2-4-1 tickets; young Jeppe has got some comedy
chops on him!
We carried on to Nach
der Frau mit der Brille, a Gordon Goodwin-esque saga that showed off the
technical abilities of every musician on stage in a cartoonish way, with some
astonishing solos from Petter Hängsel on trombone and Rune Lohse on drums. They explained that on their tour to Germany
which comprised of two concerts, Hängsel was so inspired by the churches of
Germany that he wrote this next chart, Very
Big Dom. No shortage of language jokes this afternoon listeners! This
parodic waltz gave saxophonist Ingimar
Andersen chance to show off a sound to rival that of Marius Neset, with a
sweepingly sarcastic solo that swooped over the glamorous harmonies with ease.
By beginning so chaotically with Två, the gradual wind down back to diatonic harmony and rhythmic
sanity made the set flow naturally, and to move on to a Bach chorale was quite
simply genius. Arranged by Zeeberg, it was an almost perfect transcription of
the organ part, with the exception of Lohse on drums, who did his very best
impression of Animal, interfering with the chorale and yet never disturbing it.
Horse Orchestra are undoubtedly a group who don’t take themselves too
seriously, and paradoxically this makes them incredibly serious, as their
technique and togetherness is unparralled. To step up the daft-o-meter, What are Toben and the Bear Doing Tonight? had
rings of Norwegian children’s song Alle
Fugle Smol, only with far more outlandish harmony and some very exploratory
solos.
To promote their last album, Horse Orchestra treated us to
the titular track Four Letter Word,
which showcased the great Scandinavian jazz tradition of a groove that you
can’t nail down but makes you move. The relationship between tuba Kristian Tangvik, bassist Nicolai Kaas Claesson and Rune Lohse was what held these
exceptional grooves together, as they were so slick that to fault them would be
impossible.
As an even more special treat, we were given the world
premiere of Denske Sang er ihn…; an
unfinished title but a gorgeously complete 12/8 ballad, with a flowing melody
from trombone, tuba, and velvet-toned Erik
Kimestad Pedersen on trumpet, showing they can do absolutely anything,
including traditionally pretty ballads, with no shortage of light, thin
homophonic textures.
We were left gasping for more after Horsen, which is undoubtedly Hunting
Wabbits’ even more crazy cousin, which was named after a Danish town that we
have been assured is much duller than the tune is!
Following raging applause and boos and hisses for Steve Mead
as he told us we couldn’t have one more, we were allowed one encore, of Horsen, backwards. Which is just the epitome of how off-the-cuff and capable
these musicians truly are! This group may not be for everyone, but nobody can
deny how supremely talented they are.