Search - Arve Henriksen :: Chiaroscuro

Arve Henriksen - "Chiaroscuro"

Audiostar | USA | 01/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Arve Henriksen is without doubt one of Norway's leading instrumentalists, a master of the trumpet. He is also a searching musician, whose investigations have led him to Japanese music, Balinese sounds, Mongolian overtone singing, Sidsel Endresen's vocal sounds, electronics and instruments such as the koto, the biwa and the shakuhachi. The tonal quality of the shakuhachi flute in particular has long been an inspiration for him, giving him a sense of direction in the development of his own sound.



"Chiaroscuro" is the follow-up to the acclaimed "Sakuteiki" of 2001 (RCD2021). BBC Online called it "a thing of rare and compelling beauty, music making as natural and essential as breathing". This time the Norwegian trumpeter is joined by drummer Audun Kleive and sound artist Jan Bang to create some very beautiful musical soundscapes where the trumpet is the natural focal point. There's also more room for Arve's wordless singing, sometimes used to stunning effect with Supersilent.



As with "Sakuteiki", "Chiaroscuro" is recorded on locations in Norway, but this time in concert situations. The final selections have been chosen by Arve himself and treated and mixed by Jan Bang and Erik Honoré. The album's title comes, of course, from the Italian word meaning light and shade, referring to the technique of using these elements to achieve an illusion of depth in two-dimensional works of art and later in moving pictures, referenced in the titles of the individual tracks on the album."

Further timeless artistry from Arve Henriksen...

Larry L. Looney | Austin, Texas USA | 07/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For his second album, Arve Henriksen chose to work with Jan Bang (livesampling and other samples) and Audun Kleive (drums, percussion) in a trio setting. The music here is still meditative at times (see Sakuteiki), but with a broader audio palette - the contributions of the other two players are stunning, especially in some of the sensitive improvisational passages. Henriksen's vocals continue to evolve - his range is incredible, at times leading the listener to think there's a female singer on the recording. Bang's sampling never ventures into the area of `noise' - he brings sounds into the mix from outside sources, looping them and altering them into unrecognizable but completely appropriate entities, as well as taking samples from the ongoing performances of Henriksen and Kleive, re-coloring and re-shaping them and putting them back into the mix. Kleive's work is a wonder (he was also a member of Terje Rypdal's fine band, The Chasers, back in the 80s) - his drumming is subtle, never heavy-handed...and least of all, predictable. He brings all sorts of percussive elements into play, shading and shaping his sound to reflect and expand the work of the other two and the sound of the trio as a whole.



At times, Henriksen's trumpet asserts itself in a way more `expected' - as it does toward the end of the second track, `bird's-eye-view' - but as if to remind the listener that this is not meant to be a `jazz setting', `chiaro' opens with some delicate percussion from Kleive, with Arve's voice sounding like a siren luring sailors through the mist. The album's title finds a perfect analogy in this music, which contains some of the most `visual' sound you're likely to find. Like its predecessor, CHIAROSCURO is a collection of sound paintings - this is a work of great beauty and emotion, incredibly evocative both of mental images and feelings.

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