Nodwell's innovative music takes listeners on heroic journey of transformation, a shamanic descent into the underworld.

In his second release, composer/arranger Mark Nodwell takes listeners on a heroic journey of transformation, portraying a shamanic descent into the underworld to retrieve the spiritual fire. It is a dual world where the familiar becomes arresting, and expectations are suspended, fulfilled, and transformed. The pieces, in turn somber and mischievous, intense and joyful, uncover a broad spectrum of qualities and compositional ideas - the results are both innovative and beautiful. Nodwell's handpicked dream quintet is Ron Miles (trumpet), Khabu Doug Young (guitar), Art Lande (piano), Drew Gress (bass), and Tom Rainey (drums).

Lyrical themes, passionate improvisations, and evocative harmonies fill the record, while deeper listening reveals subtle layering, an overarching sense of form, and a play on expectations. Nodwell explains: 'I wanted to explore the song form, to see how much I could stretch and warp the standard song structure, how much I could put in or take out, and still have the essence be a song. The forms curl and twist, continually presenting the material in a different light. The music plays with expectations, establishing familiar signposts while laying out unfamiliar terrain, drawing the listener into an enigmatic dreamlike soundspace. It deliberately hovers between the familiar worlds of inside and free jazz, never quite committing to either, creating an unsettling psychological tension. I tried to balance, or at least juxtapose, this tension with the lyricism of heartfelt songs.'

Each song is its own complex soundworld; from the quietly ominous bass and piano of the title track to the swinging drums of 'Fleet' and the achingly gorgeous twinned trumpet and guitar of 'Aura', the instruments loop, weave and mesh to create rich textural soundscapes. The ensemble executes these challenging compositions with subtlety and grace. The varied timbres are faithfully conveyed in a transparent analogue recording mixed to 2 + 5 channel DSD.

Track Listing

• Nemesis
• Vortex
• Pitfall
• Corpse
• Fleet
• Aura
• Flight of the Pterodactyl
• Resurrection
• Dream Time (epilogue)

Additional Details

Label: Songlines

Genre: Jazz

Run Time: 62 mins

Release Date: 06/03/03

UPC: 774355153925