Tell Us in Bloomington, MN

Tell Us
is the third long-player from
Goran Kajfe¿ Tropiques
since 2017. Their founding, however, dates back to 2011 when, after the release of
Kajfe¿
' Nordic Prize-winning double album
X/Y
, he was commissioned to compose an original work for Sweden's premier modernist dance troupe Vindhäxor. Their debut,
Enso
, was composed of a gradually unfolding, hour-long track with a fever of rolling grooves, hypnotic ostinatos, and shuffling, circular beats. 2019's
Into the Wild
was issued during the pandemic. Bass clarinetist
Christer Bothen
joined the lineup of trumpeter
, keyboardist
Alexander Zethson
, double bassist
Johan Berthling
, and drummer
Johan Holmegard
.
2024's
fits the
Tropiques
aesthetic and is also a departure from it. It is the first of their albums to appear on
WeJazz
. Bass clarinet was left off, but strings from cellist/string arranger
Leo Svensson Sander
and violinist/string arranger
Josefin Runsteen
do appear. The influences of
Alice Coltrane
(particularly in string charts),
Miles Davis
,
Terry Riley
Philip Glass
Tangerine Dream
, and psychedelia all register.
Chamber strings introduce "Unity in Diversity." They duet then engage in call-and-response around a lyric fragment.
Zethson
adds a six-note organ pattern, then his piano in counterpoint, then a synth and gentle sequencer amid hand percussion, all in layered restraint.
' trumpet solo floats across Arabic and Spanish modes while framing
Berthling
's commanding bass pulse.
Sander
and
Runsteen
return to the frontline as her multi-tracked violin adds ballast and drama to his solo. The interplay between
, and
recalls
John McLaughlin
Shakti
in places.
"Magmatique," introduced by a piano playing a minor-key, two-chord vamp is punctuated by double bass, melodic synth, piano, and muted trumpet before cello and pizzicato bass add dark, dramatic nuance. The pianist's left hand is pronounced as it delivers single lines and vamps as food for strings, synth, and bass to feed off. The tension increases gradually before
Holmegard
(playing piano, synth, and organ) get assertive, circular, and funky, folding futurist soul-jazz and post-bop into proggy rock progressions. The synth shades and prompts everyone forward, especially the trumpeter, who adds a generous layer of reverb to his compelling solo while engaging directly with the rhythm section and strings, which offer their own vamps.
Closer "Prije i Posle" (translation, "now and then") emerges with a floating synth and vibraphone sounds, with a Far East lyric statement and pizzicato double bass. There are harp-like sounds as
plays the piano strings glissando, harp-like, from inside. Halfway through,
plays double-time in a snare and tom-tom shuffle as cello responds from the lower register, and bass and synth propel the arrangement.
delivers a long, loping investigatory solo before
, in reverbed solo, engages with her and
before they come together and whisper it out. While
initially seems to be a simple extension of the
sound, that's a deceptive conclusion: The attention to detail, dynamic, harmonic interplay, and textural detail here are a leap forward into unknown sonic territory. ~ Thom Jurek