17. Stereotomic

Once again last week I spent a couple of hours in the record shop Bare Jazz, listening through a handful of albums. One of my absolute favorite ways to let a few hours pass. One of the records I listened to was Øyvind Nypan’s Stereotomic, and I decided to dedicate this Second of Jazz post to this album.

Nypan is a guitar player born in Trondheim, Norway. After playing rock as a teenager at the local music scene he turned to jazz. He carried out his music studies at the University of Agder in Kristiansand and at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen, where he also played in different groups and projects. After moving to Paris he became a member of the Fredrika Stahl band, recording and touring around the world for a couple of years. This in turn, led to new musical relationships, new albums and new tours.

Stereotomic is the fourth album Nypan recorded as a leader. The album was released to great critics in February 2017, and features Bernt Moen on piano, Egil Kalman on contrabass and Ole Mofjell on drums. The music was recorded live at the University of Agder, Norway, after a one day rehearsal.

Stereotomic consists of eight tracks, seven performed as a quartet, and one performed as a trio with guitar, bass and drums. Nypan has brought inspiration from many musical styles and genres into his compositions, and the eight unique tracks make up a well balanced record. The musicians truly deliver collectively as well as individually.

My favorite track is the playful melody, The Resignated Driver. But also the peaceful piece, Piece For Peace and the melancholic ballad, Paris, have been playing on repeat on my stereo quite a lot these past few days. The latter was written on Nypan’s return to Paris after the 2015 terror attacks, a city in which he has previously lived and worked.

Take a listen here

Thanks once again to Bare Jazz for a great tip for my second of jazz post!