Carsten Sindvald is a Danish multi-instrumentist and composer who I first came across playing saxophone with Robin Taylor, although he is also adept at clarinet, piano/keyboards and church organ. He graduated as a classical saxophonist from The Royal Danish Academy of Music and has been involved in quite a few jazz ventures, including with his own quartet and with Jon Hemmersam, although I believe that this is his first solo offering. He has gathered together guest musicians who have strengths in different areas, which has allowed him to create an album that in so many ways sounds like multiple bands yet at the same time there is a real identity throughout. This is jazz that has been carefully thought out, music that has been deftly arranged so that everybody has the opportunity to shine but never at the expense of the overall direction.
More than a few people will mention Chick Corea when reviewing this album (and percussionist Martin Spans who has been in Chick’s band is a guest), but there are many different styles at play. One interesting element are the “Hippopotamus” songs. There are ten of these – the longest at 1:48 and the shortest at just 33 seconds, and these solo piano pieces act as palate cleansers. It’s like the sorbet just as you get ready for the next delicious offering, so that it isn’t tainted by what has gone before.
This really is a delight, a very different style of jazz to what he pursues with Robin Taylor, and one that I enjoyed immensely.
