The Quiet Cormorant

To say Per Oddvar Johansen is a drummer for all seasons is a bit of an understatement. Neither flashy nor overbearing, he has mastered the priceless art of playing less in order to mean more. — Jazzwise, May 2020 More…

Release Date: 17th Jul 2020
Catalogue No: LOS2371
Label: Losen Records

Presto Recording of the Week

31st July 2020
Presto Recordings of the Year

Winner 2020

1. The Quiet Cormorant

2. Waltz for Hire

3. Brown House (By the Sea)

4. The Njalla Suite

5. Island Movies

6. Love, Peace & Currywurst

7. The Still

8. Sørvær Major Manor

9. A Ballad In Popular Keys

10. Sunshine - After Fog

11. Current Tides

12. Where Did You Go

13. Around & About the Roundabouts

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Interview, Per Oddvar Johansen on finding inspiration in isolation

22nd December 2020

We sat down with Presto Award-winner, drummer Per Oddvar Johansen, to discuss his latest album The Quiet Cormorant, as well as his compositional process and hopeful plans for next year.

Recording of the Week, Per Oddvar Johansen - The Quiet Cormorant

31st July 2020

Norwegian drummer Per Oddvar Johansen’s latest record sees his trio exploring vastness and introspection with a minimal palette.

Norwegian drummer and composer Per Oddvar Johansen is probably best known for his work with Christian Wallumrd, Trygve Seim, The Source, Solveig Slettahjell and Vigleik Storaas. A five times winner of the Spellemannprisen, Norway's equivalent of a Grammy, Per Oddvar Johansen is recognised by many as a natural successor and flame keeper to the late Jon Christensen and Paul Motian - recognition that places him firmly in the hierarchy of today's drummers.

Per Oddvar wrote much of the music on 'The Quiet Cormorant' in quiet, creative solitude in The Arctic Hideaway on a coastline near Bod in northern Norway where the Atlantic ocean, the light, the sounds of birds and the sense of space and distance become an artist's palette. In his head were the sounds of his fellow musicians in the trio. Joining him is pianist Helge Lien, who he describes as having a unique way of incorporating a Norwegian sound in his playing, and Torben Snekkestad's phrasing, detail, and unbelievable control over his saxophone. Audiences, too, perceive so much thoughtfulness in Helge's playing, a quiet passion as he leans into every note, while Torben's sound is profoundly songlike, the breath mattering as much as the notes.

Joining the trio on two tracks is the guitarist Hedvig Mollestad, another remarkable presence in Norwegian music in recent years. Hedvig is such a great musician says Per Oddvar, "I like the rock-reminiscence it gives to the record as a whole". Certainly it's far more than a guest appearance from Hedvig. When 'Love, Peace and Currywurst' powers on to the album's landscape, it's like the crash of the oceans wave onto the beach, a hymn to Nature, a party on the sands of time.

Personnel: Per Oddvar Johansen (drums, vibraphone), Helge Lien (piano), Torben Snekkestad (tenor & soprano saxophone, bass clarinet), Hedvig Mollestad (guitar on tracks 3 and 6)

Reviews

May 2020

To say Per Oddvar Johansen is a drummer for all seasons is a bit of an understatement. Neither flashy nor overbearing, he has mastered the priceless art of playing less in order to mean more.

31st July 2020

As much as his fluid drumming is certainly one of the key appeals of the album, one of his strongest skills is holding back and offering the space to Lien and Snekkestad, guiding his two musicians through the landscapes. The minimal arrangement and sometimes sparse melodies give us a sense of implied vastness, like looking out across an empty, icy ocean. More of a reflection on the fruitful nature of isolation, much like its namesake, The Quiet Cormorant only asks you listen quietly to appreciate it.

The Quiet Cormorant

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Interview, Per Oddvar Johansen on finding inspiration in isolation

Recording of the Week, Per Oddvar Johansen - The Quiet Cormorant

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The Quiet Cormorant

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