1996's
Skywards
marked the last time Norwegian electric guitarist
Terje Rypdal
cut a studio album for
ECM
. Since then, he's issued recordings that range from classically focused works (
Lux Aeterna
,
Double Concerto: 5th Symphony
) and a cinematic concept offering (
Crime Scene
) to jazz rock (
Vossabrygg
) and integrations of them all (
Melodic Warrior
), exclusively in live settings. His accompanists on this date include old friends
Stale Storlokken
on keyboards,
Pal Thowsen
on drums, and young electric bassist
Endre Hareide Hallre
.
Conspiracy
is a striking portrait of
Rypdal
's three musical personas: guitarist, composer, and improviser. His trademark Stratocaster and its skyward reach are everywhere amid his love of dynamically controlled environments. Unlike his more rock-oriented outings,
continues to employ the electric guitar as lead instrument in exploratory compositions that rely heavily on sonic resonance and architecture. He defies listeners to find the seam between composition and improvisation. Opener "As If the Ghost â?¦ Was Me?" commences with ticking ride cymbals, muted, wafting keys, tympani, and
's rounded tones in a melodic frame. After
Hallre
's nebulous entry crisscrossing the fretless influences of
Jaco Pastorius
and
Mark Egan
Storlokke
n's organ paints the backdrop as
Thowsen
picks up the tempo and intensity.
's sharp, edgy, yet warm tone bleeds across them all with a few notes and sustained tones. "What Was I Thinking" is an abstract rubato ballad.
examines the outer reaches of its melody in economic terms while still playing with a simmering passion as the ensemble traces sound itself around him, framing his lyricism in warmth and poignancy. The title track commences as a slow, processional rocker with middle-register harmonic lines played on guitar in a repetitive pattern. A syncopated snare and a floor tom un-fetter
's tone amid throbbing bass and squalling organ. The band gets mean, traversing a path that bridges
Miles Davis
'
Tribute to Jack Johnson
Emergency
by
Tony Williams Lifetime
with
Larry Young
guides it with a razored tone, distorted vamps, and elegant lyricism. "By His Lonesome" is an intriguing ballad with
as principal soloist with gorgeous impressionistic drumming. Most of the eight-minute "Baby Beautiful" is delivered in gloriously abstract ambience with silvery guitar, tinkling bells, hovering keys, and restrained bass before erupting volcanically behind
's freewheeling drums while
asserts a tender, aggressive, blues-drenched melody.
Storlokken
's sensitive organ offers a knotty, percussive, solo amid driving, syncopated drums and a humming bassline. It is among the set's most satisfying selections. The two-minute closer "Dawn" is a coda offered by
's low, moaning pipe organ that sounds like a lonely foghorn in a midnight sea, adorned only by occasional cymbal washes. As a whole,
is a compelling set of musical environments brought forth by
's gifts for lyricism and improvisation as his band reflect textural imagination and consummate musicality. ~ Thom Jurek