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Lars Jansson & Thomas Agergaard, 

Garden of Sounds.

 

Lars Jansson (piano and organ) and Thomas Agergaard (saxophones, alto flute) are both prominent on the Scandinavian jazz scene. Here, they display remarkable musical compatibility throughout a richly textured instrumental collection that includes compositions by each of them as well as several co-writes and a moody reading of George Gershwin’s “I Loves You Porgy.” If you’re looking for a consistently beautiful performance that’s as soothing as anything by the late George Winston, you’ve come to the right place. 

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Mike Greenblatt

Jul 28, 2023 

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Leary of there being no rhythm section, approaching the artistry of Scandinavian duo Lars Jansson and Thomas Agergaard on Garden of Sounds (Arts) seemed uninviting. No bass or drums? Yet within the first few minutes of the opening title track, the quiet contentment, the comfort of beauty and the serenity of their melancholy poured forth to the point of, as had happened in the past with other rather magical albums, this listener stopping all activity to stare in awe at the music cascading out of the speakers. Lars on piano and organ with Thomas on sax and flute meld into the mystic combining trad, Euro and free elements into a seamless whole. This is gorgeous stuff and there’s certainly enough going on from gentle swing to avant-garde-lite to tweaked melodies (no one’s done Gershwin’s “I Loves You Porgy”quite like this). This pair does not need a rhythm section.

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Haven er et fænomen med paradokser. Vi vil gerne have naturen tæt på, men kun i begrænset og kontrolleret omfang. Vi vil gerne kunne gå ud i vores have og falde i kontemplation, men samtidig kalder den på en arbejdsindsats for at kunne forblive rum for afslapning. En helt anden slags have - fri af paradokser - findes på GARDEN OF SOUNDS. De to musikere tegner sig nogenlunde ligeligt for kompositionerne, men den smukke I Loves You Porgy er skrevet af Gershwin.

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Der refereres til John Cage, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Charlie Haden og Keith Jarrett på en måde en tilbageskuende inspiration, men i mødet mellem de to improviserende mestre opstår et tidløst univers, hvor melodiernes titler inviterer til hverdags-dvælen, fuglene og de legende børns skønhed.

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Benedicta Pécseli​

Arts. TA (fl/ts/sp), LJ (key). Denmark 2022.