Every time I think the thought “I’m not really a fan of …” whatever, something comes along to change my mind. In the case of the genre called funk, it’s this amazing release from the German jazz and world music label Ozella by Norwegian bassman Jens Fossum. He has spent the
past decade-plus playing bass with others, including the late Sigurd Køhn’s quartet, and behind pop singer Randi Tytingvåg and jazz singer Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen. On this debut he moves the bass out front, making it the lead instrument of a powerful ensemble that includes his brother Hâvard on saxophones, flute and clarinet, plus a slew of keyboard players, drummers, percussionists and a brass section.What they’ve made is a rocking, driving, multi-genre explosion of funky, improvised instrumental music that ought to be part of everybody’s summer soundtrack.
It starts with “Walter Freeman’s Pick Of Choice,” a gruesome pun involving the “father of the frontal lobotomy.” This is indeed an impressive show of tour-de-force picking, beginning on a long intro of just Fossum on his Fender jazz bass and some percussion. After Hâvard enters with some deep tenor licks the ensemble enters to make it a Herbie Hancock-style funk jazz rave-up. Take a listen:
There’s more along those lines, including the jumpy electro-funk of “Copycat,” with some definite Hancock sounds or perhaps even samples, what I take to be a bit of a Stevie Wonder homage, lots of hot horns and some sweet retro-big band swing sounds too; plus the pure frantic funk of “Ocean Drive,” drive being the operative word of this ultra-fast piece with Fossum’s 16th-note runs pushing the tune, and a delightful solo on the midi bass.
But Fossum is intent on proving he’s no one-trick pony. “Zanzibar” is a stripped-down Afro-pop tune with just percussion (conga and bongos) and bari sax in addition to his bass. “Ratskeller” (the term for a type of underground European – especiall German – bar or club) is what you might expect to hear in such a club, a soulful Euro-jazz sound with lots of wah-wah on the midi bass. Fossum plays a pizzicato cello solo on “Torquemada,” a trippy hip-hop piece popping with that J bass and a swell tenor solo. “Route 69” is a sax-heavy flat-out rocker, and “Days Of Wine, Guns And Roses” is another one with hip-hop influence and a martial tattoo pounded out on the high snare. The album finishes with a short but sweet lullaby titled “Frida’s,” with Fossum again on the pizzicato cello and his brother on melodic baritone sax.
So, BassDetector is funky and bass-y but hardly one-dimensional. As I said at the outset, this one surprised me by growing on me pretty quickly. It’s a grand record for a party or a summer drive.
(Ozella, 2015)
