Reine Fiske Archive

Sky Music: Tribute to Terje Rypdal  – Rune Grammofon

by Audiophile Audition | Nov 8, 2017 | Jazz CD Reviews

Sky Music: Tribute to Terje Rypdal [TrackList and Artistlist follows] – Rune Grammofon RCD2194, 79:50 [8/25/17] ****: A birthday tribute to an undervalued guitarist. The 79-minute, nine-track Sky Music: Tribute to Terje Rypdal is a transformative album. It is transformative in two ways. The mostly Norwegian, plus some American, musicians transform the music of guitarist Terje Rypdal [pronounced TEAR-hey REEP-doll] into interpretive tunes which spotlight his compositions; and the CD will hopefully transform or convert people to become fans of Rypdal and his sizeable discography (nearly 30 albums as leader; and probably twice that as a collaborator with other artists). Many jazz listeners outside of Norway may not be aware of Rypdal, despite five decades as an innovative and influential jazz musician. A significant portion of his releases have been issued on the ECM label, but he hasn’t often toured America. His records have not had the popular appeal of fellow Norwegians such as Jan Garbarek. Thankfully, Rypdal’s progressive jazz has been discovered by other jazz/improv stalwarts, such as Nels Cline, Bill Frisell, Henry Kaiser and former Sonic Youth member Jim O’Rourke, who all contribute to this tribute. The material also includes a large cast of Scandinavians. Sky Music came […]