MARILYN MAZUR GROUP  «FLOW» 

 

The album starts with a fine, African-style kalimba melody, then the "thumb piano" soon becomes more rhythmic, the guitar, bass and soprano saxophone gently tune in, then finally, Marilyn Mazur sings a few bars, and grabs the sticks – making the sound more determined, "electric", funky and rousing. The second song, "Summer Night Sky," is a counterpoint to the opener: what takes place in transfigured stillness and range moves slowly, quietly, spherically – Fredrik Lundin's bass flute, a sustained, long drawn-out guitar, and the bass sounds of Krister Jonsson and Klavs Hovman can be heard, here and there a gong: An interlude before "Energy Hop," when the music with the tenor saxophone, fired by driving cymbals and drums, picks up speed, the guitar intersperses a few weird, melodious tones here and there and the electric bass groovingly keeps the band’s feet on the ground. A fourth track, "Garden Moments," follows, one of three collective improvisations, here rhythmically opened with Marilyn's tongue drum.

That's how diversely the 11 tracks of this astonishing new album by the Marilyn Mazur Group, which has been together for 15 years, flow. It is their first opus since their 2010 double CD, Tangled Temptations/The Magic Box, although Marilyn Mazur, Klavs Hovman and Fredrik Lundin from Denmark, and Krister Jonsson from Sweden have also worked together in other constellations.

 

The CD is aptly titled: The music captivates with its “Flow” and "because there is still a lot of wildly growing energy to be heard," according to Marilyn. From this flow, which also refers to the flowing together of four different characters, a certain poetry - peppered with many surprising notes - emerges. On the one hand, this poetry comes from the energetic rhythms and acoustic flashes that Marilyn Mazur establishes with her huge percussive instruments, and how she composes graceful soundscapes with cymbals and bells, singing along with almost childlike innocence and purity at certain moments. On the other hand, the poetic quality is created through Fredrik Lundin's saxophone and bass flute, played very subtly and unobtrusively, but with engaging ease, while it also arises through the versatile guitarist Krister Jonsson, who shines again and again with refined, delicate ideas and unexpectedly rocking passages, particularly rousing in "Pieces 4." No less a role is played by Klavs Hovman, who has brought his own playing to mastery through many different souls of this jazz world. As a grand seigneur, he confidently steers the flow at all times with both the electric and double bass. A river through different valleys and depths, which may meander a bit, not always needing to know where it’s going in advance: that's why we love good music, that's why we love jazz.

— Steff Rohrbach

 

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Marilyn Mazur Group

Fredrik Lundin — sax and flute
Krister Jonsson — guitar
Klavs Hovman — basses
Marilyn Mazur — drums, percussion & vocals

 

Recorded March 2022 at The Village Studio in Copenhagen
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Patrik Zosso
Produced by Marilyn Mazur, Sarah Chaksad, Patrik Zosso
cover art and layout by Doris Reimann
image: stock.adobe.com/amixstudio
band photo by Jacob Crawfurd
published by CYH, www.clapyourhands.ch
www.marilynmazur.com | www.esteam-music.com