Koto, voice, and double bass, the three elements here of a highly unusual album, the veteran Swedish bassist Jormin – known for his own albums and his work with Bobo Stenson and Charles Lloyd – joined by 25-string koto player Karin Nakagawa and by Swedish folk singer Lena Willemark.
Recorded in Sweden in May 2013, revelling in the uncategorisable, everything on the dozen tracks composed by one or other of the players or sometimes duos in combination, something of a surprise texturally.
Highly centred, at its best for instance on ‘Hirajoshi’ when the trio manage to shake off the formality of the music, Trees of Light is a mix of the ancient, exotic, and intimate, Willemark stark in her solemnity, Jormin a tonal rock, the role of the incantatory koto a lulling presence. SG
Lena Willemark, above left, Karin Nakagawa, and Anders Jormin. Photo: ECM
Released in the UK/Ireland on 9 March