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
uNomkhubulwane cover

uNomkhubulwane

Nduduzo Makhathini
Hz cover

Hz

Main
Nail cover

Nail

Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel
Big Band cover

Big Band

Julius Hemphill
Montreux Jazz Festival cover

Montreux Jazz Festival

Ronald Shannon Jackson & the Decoding Society
Cyborg cover

Cyborg

Klaus Schulze
The Circle Of Time cover

The Circle Of Time

Amina Claudine Myers Trio