It is remarkable that the two Dutch bop giants pianist Frans Elsen and saxophonist Piet Noordijk found each other in the fusion and jazz rock of the early 70s. During a vacation in Norway Elsen wrote a number of pieces that he named after the villages he visited there. He decided to perform these for radio recordings with a contemporary band, which included Noordijk, drummer Eric Ineke and guitarist
… Wim Overgaauw. The band remained active for a few years, but never made any official recordings. Fortunately the Dutch Jazz Archive dug up this collection of radio and live recordings of excellent quality. Supported by congas player Wim van der Beek, Septet Frans Elsen plays with solid grooves that lean towards funk and soul jazz, with Elsen himself behind the Fender Rhodes and Overgaauw even fiddling with a wah-wah pedal in opening number Ringebu. Noordijk also feels remarkably at home in this sound and solo's freely and passionately. There is successful flirting with a modern sound, but the power of Norway is precisely that the free playing remains deeply rooted in jazz. (MR)more
