Haftor Medboe Group - In Perpetuity - Jazznyt

Like the Vikings, guitarist and composer Haftor Medbøe found his way to the British Isles. Unlike his predecessors he arrived with a friendlier agenda. This has resulted in many Scottish friends and together with some of these he has formed Haftor Medboe Group. Their second album ‘in perpetuity' takes the listener into an eternity, an experiment in sonic variation combined with folk elements, electronica and improvisation. The guitar is the main instrument but the two horn players (Sue McKenzie's sax, Chris Greive's trombone and Signy Jakobsdottir's percussion together with the string quartet (Edinburgh Quartet) have leading roles as soloists and musical anchors. You can almost visualise the Scottish scenery when listening to the disc. High mountains, lush moss-green valleys, open landscape, sea-spray, castles, the middle ages and a picturesque pub with ... yes, whisky. In other words this album is melodious and anchored in traditional musical expression but without it at all being traditional pub music. The music has more elements of chamber music, due especially to the contribution of the Edinburgh Quartet. The music and performance are liberated and without limitations but still comes across structured and well crafted. In Perpetuity is definitely worth a listen.