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
Shadow Man cover

Shadow Man

Tim Berne's Snakeoil
Life in Leipzig cover

Life in Leipzig

Terje Rypdal, Ketil Bjørnstad
The Veil cover

The Veil

Jim Black, Nels Cline, BB&C, Tim Berne
Blackdance cover

Blackdance

Klaus Schulze
Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band cover

Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band

Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band
This is PiL cover

This is PiL

Public Image Ltd
Dogon A.D. cover

Dogon A.D.

Julius Hemphill
Places of Worship cover

Places of Worship

Arve Henriksen
Kulma cover

Kulma

Pan Sonic