Exit! cover
Released

On Friday the 13th, 2012, saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, bassist Johan Berthling, and drummer Andreas Werliin, aka Fire!, already plenty powerful as a trio, decided to see what they could accomplish as a 27-member improvising big band: two dozen musicians (six reeds, five brass, three guitarists, three keyboardists, four bassists, four drummers) and three vocalists, performing a 45-minute epic split into two side-long chunks. There are some fierce solos, but this is no mere slab of blare; it’s a slow-burning groove orchestrated like a 1970s Lalo Schifrin movie score, with poetic lyrics (delivered by Sofia Jernberg) and a four-bass, four-drums pulse like a whale’s heartbeat.

Phil Freeman

Recommended by

Suggestions
Jamahiriya cover

Jamahiriya

Savage Republic
Liarbird cover

Liarbird

Ola Kvernberg
Slow Life cover

Slow Life

Theo Travis
Nights on Earth cover

Nights on Earth

Vince Mendoza
Steampunk Serenade cover

Steampunk Serenade

Honey Ear Trio
The Unbelievable Truth cover

The Unbelievable Truth

The Wrong Object, Elton Dean
SuperBigmouth cover

SuperBigmouth

Chris Lightcap
Der Abend Der Schwarzen Folklore cover

Der Abend Der Schwarzen Folklore

Caspar Brötzmann Massaker
Squeeze Me Ahead of Line cover

Squeeze Me Ahead of Line

The Season Standard
Pre-Emptive Denial cover

Pre-Emptive Denial

Paraphrase, Tim Berne