專輯介紹
We Jazz Records 是一個來自芬蘭的爵士廠牌，他們的發行核心圍繞在「有趣」，在各種融會數流派的爵士、即興音樂裡，他們的發行總會聽到許多讓耳朵「叮」一聲亮點，那些亮點總是深入淺出，平常沒有在接觸爵士音樂的人也都能享受其中。
除了發行，他們也做 Festival、發行刊物，甚至有一間實體店面，會有一家唱片行的原因很浪漫，因一封來自瑞典陌生人在網站上隨機找到 We Jazz Records 而寄的信，信中寫著「我的 92 歲父親去世後留下了 11,000 張的黑膠，不知道你們有沒有興趣收購？」。
Berlin-based Swedish bassist and producer Petter Eldh returns with a new Koma Saxo album Post Koma, out on We Jazz Records, 10 November. The title Post Koma aptly describes the vibe of this one: The Koma Saxo sound continues its evolution, morphing into a holistic vision of jazz now and soon, where live instrumentation and repurposed sampling lose their boundaries.
Over the course of its three iterations (self-titled debut in 2019, LIVE in 2020, Koma West in 2022) Koma Saxo has sounded at times "liquid" and postproduced, at times raw and direct, at times acoustic and at other times oddly electronic (even while still being made with acoustic instruments). Post Koma is a culmination of this sonic study by Eldh, resulting in a music vision that never second-guesses throwing tasty hooks and everlasting melodies out the window after a mere bite of them. But fear not: there are even more new ideas just around the corner.
Eldh compositions and ideas merge together in a way that just flows. There are quality musicians in the mix, including Koma Saxo live band members Sofia Jernberg, Jonas Kullhammar, Otis Sandsjö, Mikko Innanen, Maciej Obara and Christian Lillinger, but that like saying that a cake includes flour and sugar. This music is not about playing, its essentially about how the music is and how it takes its shape, so you quickly lose track of who did what, and that all in the benefit of encountering this music as an entity that is constantly challenging itself while moving forward. The musicians are valued contributors, and an integral part of what here, but this is far from traditional jazz playing where a band sits in a room playing takes after takes of compositions on sheet.
That being said, this is jazz to the fullest. That is, music that understands its past but always moves forward, and is never afraid of taking risks. Petter Eldh uses jazz as a starting point, not the end goal. This gives his music edge and mobility beyond what can be contained on one album. In a way, an album, then, becomes a snapshot of a creative process in constant flux and evolution.
Opening track "Koma" is literally drum & bass. It only consists of those two elements, yet what comes out of it is an open invite, a way of clearing your palette. It would be useless to describe individual tracks beyond that, but there a strong sense of deliverance to the set. It feels like an ending, and also like a new beginning.