Enter cover
Released

Fire! Orchestra is exactly what its name implies: a (very) large ensemble with the trio of saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, bassist Johan Berthling, and drummer Andreas Werliin at its core. On this, the group’s first studio album, they’re nearly 30 men and women strong, including two bassists, three drummers, three guitarists (electric, acoustic, and lap steel), three vocalists, and 13 different horns, plus keyboards and electronics. On the first track of four, lead vocalist Mariam Wallentin sings her own lyrics in a voice somewhere between Karin Krog and Diamanda Galás, as the horns go wild. Later, Simon Ohlsson takes the microphone, a hoarse, Bono-esque shouter. This is dense and multifaceted music, with elements of soul, large-scale free jazz (think the Jazz Composers Orchestra or Alan Silva’s Celestrial Communications Orchestra), and even prog-rock. The first time you hear it, it’ll wash over you like a wave, but the more you listen, the more you’ll hear.

Phil Freeman

Suggestions
123 cover

123

Pole
The Music Of Wayne Shorter cover

The Music Of Wayne Shorter

Wynton Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
Live at Sweet Basil, Vol. 1 cover

Live at Sweet Basil, Vol. 1

David Murray Big Band
Solstice cover

Solstice

Jan Garbarek, Eberhard Weber, Jon Christensen, Ralph Towner
Morton Feldman: Trio cover

Morton Feldman: Trio

Marc Sabat, Rohan de Saram, Aki Takahashi
Conspiracy cover

Conspiracy

Terje Rypdal
History Gets Ahead of the Story cover

History Gets Ahead of the Story

Jeff Cosgrove, John Medeski, Jeff Lederer
Liberty cover

Liberty

Dayna Stephens Trio
Black Beings cover

Black Beings

Frank Lowe