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North Atlantic Drift

by Frode Gjerstad Nick Stephens

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Loose Torque "Label Spotlight' - The New York City Jazz Record 2011

    'The discs are very well done, as is their packaging' - Stuart Broomer, Point of Departure.

    'Since discovering Nick Stephens' wonderful Loose Torque label we look forward to each new release with anticipation, as each one so far has been a revelation'- Downtown Music Gallery.

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  • Full Digital Discography

    28
    releases

    Get all 28 Loose Torque releases available on Bandcamp and save 40%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Telling Tales, End of Play, Soho - Dudu Pukwana and Nick Stephens, Previously..., Free Play, All Said and Dun, North Atlantic Drift, Calling Signals 09 A Winter's Tour - Gjerstad, Corbett, Nilsson-Love, Stephens, and 20 more. , and , .

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1.
High, Southern Norway 05:34
2.
Snake By The Lake 09:43
3.
Falling Slowly 09:09
4.
Rising More Slowly 10:27
buy track
5.
North Utsire, South Utsire 07:39
6.
Becoming Cyclonic - for Tony Williams 12:25
7.
Complex Area Persisting - for John Stevens 09:34

about

DOUBLE BASSIST – Spring 2004
Stephens describes the profound impact that the atmosphere of the misty Norwegian Fjords had on the two musicians as they worked intensively in the studio. This concentrated atmosphere is immediately apparent in the dulled, almost vulnerable beauty of the first track High, Southern Norway. Stephens’ playing has a vocal quality, as he opens with some beautifully controlled rising arpeggios that bend pitch and morph between normal bowing and contasto. When Gjerstad enters, the two musicians blend seamlessly, slithering around the scale rather than resting on any one single note. Gjerstads saxophone playing is rooted in Ornette Coleman, though the occasional gruffer honk is reminiscent of Albert Ayler. However the groove of Rising More Slowly puts Gjerstad closer to Sonny Rollins and Stephens responds to this rare sighting of a regular metre by provoking a fierce clash as he pushes the other way into abstraction. The disc closes with poignent tributes to drummer Tony Williams – who had recently died – and their mentor John Stevens. This disc is full of emotionally potent playing that keeps the listener thinking long after the music ends. Philip Clark

CADENCE MAGAZINE
Redwood, New York.
This duo is compelling, creating dark and icy improvisations of the sort captured in the title (and, indeed, the liners indicate that each studio session was preceded by long drives or walks through Norway’s icy mountains or alongside the fjords).
Having met through the late John Stevens, catalyst for the British improv and long time member of Gjerstad’s group Detail these two players share a highly abstract though focused approach to free playing. Gjerstad’s tart alto improvisations are indebted to Ornette Coleman, if not in that vocabulary then in their logic. But outside of his favored trio context, these duos also present a good opportunity to focus in on his luxuriant tone. On sparse pieces like "Complex Area Persisting" his breathy playing cozies up to the frosty arco of Stephens (a superb bassist). Often their interaction results in the construction of a dense lattice as they chase each others lines down and twist them into different directions."High Southern Norway" is a somewhat startling opener, slashing out of the speakers at you as Stephens’ fierce playing throws out ominous shapes for Gjerstad’s alto to hurdle. Yet on "Snake By The Lake," an entirely different territory is explored as the delicate trills of the saxophone cautiously circle the spooky arco rumble. "Falling Slowly" flutters like a bird, with feathery lines appearing and disappearing in the upper register. Ironically, perhaps, "Rising More Slowly" sounds better tethered. But most earthy is the rhythmic invention of "Becoming Cyclonic"
These pieces are so dense that they may best be sampled a bit at a time, but this fine duo is well worth the time and attention. Jason Bivins

credits

released February 5, 2020

Frode Gjerstad - alto saxophone
Nick Stephens - double bass

Recorded by Frode Gjerstad in Norway, March 1997

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Loose Torque London, UK

British Bassist Nick Stephens created Loose Torque Records in 2005 to make available undocumented live recordings of improvised music and free jazz. The current catalogue of 30 CDs also features contemporary live and studio recordings.
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