DAMANA – Dag Magnus Narvesen Octet "Rhizome"

Norway

Kristoffer Alberts - alto / baritone saxophones
Jørgen Mathisen - tenor saxophone
Klaus Holm - alto saxophone / bass clarinet
Lyder Øvreås Røed - trumpet
Emil Bø - trombone
Øyvind Dale - piano
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten - double bass
Dag Magnus Narvesen – drums

Botany and pedagogy inspire the rampant wildness of this octet led by Dag Magnus Narvesen, the Norwegian in his forties living in Berlin, who is also often heard in a duo with Alexander von Schlippenbach, in Aki Takase's Japanic, or with Conny Bauer. The tension that the wonderfully assembled ensemble builds over the eight compositions of the current recording "Rhizome" is palpable even in its quieter moments, as are the influences ranging from cabaret to big band blues to freely floating avant-garde. It makes sense that this "mostly underground or just above ground growing shoot axis system," as the definition of "rhizome" in botany goes, is released on Narvesen's own label called "Umulius," a neologism based on "umulig," meaning impossible, often used for children perceived as such.