The Thing ~ Live At Blå
The Thing have blown
a breath of fresh air into the generally rather ascetic world of free jazz
by alternating their own originals with covers of contemporary rock songs.
Whatever the source material, their music is forged with a disarming sense
of intense energy. The endearingly unselfconscious cover photograph of the
trio laughing helplessly leads one to expect more of the same. Instead, Live
At Blå sees Gustafsson, Flaten and Nilssen-Love delivering two lengthy
slabs of music recorded at Oslo’s premiere jazz club. Said music comprises
six covers of compositions by the likes of Joe McPhee, Don Cherry and David
Murray. Although these musicians are always worth hearing, the recording sounds
uncomfortably like it was made from the audience and lacks the clarity or
sense of perspective that would make this music truly enjoyable. Better to
experience The Thing’s floor shaking power live or on their other releases.
Colin Buttimer
August 2005
Published by Jazzwise
magazine