Press 2 – Haftor Medbøe Group – A Box of Monkeys

An exciting new release from Haftor Medbøe Group continuing the seductive cinematic atmosphere of their previous albums, this time blending in the smooth hypnotic vocals of Anneke Kampman(for some reason it reminds me of Skye) and tasteful drum programming. The new sonorities bring an interesting futuristic dimension to arrangements, fluidizing, breezing and echoing, yet without distorting the melodic poetry of the music. The album features five songs like a five act play(!) featuring a prologue and an epilogue. A special mention for the final track, “Surfrize”, a meditative synthesis charged with emotion where all the band members excel in beautiful polyphonies, at times at unison or soloing. Trying to label Haftor Medbøe Group as a postmodern jazz fusionists may not be appropriate but it gives an idea of their artistic direction.

JazzWorldQuest.com – February 2010