From time to time NMC ventures unaided into the world of avant-garde jazz, a genre I made up only to discover that it actually exists already.
And that is one reason why we only do it ‘from time to time’ – we don’t profess to be experts and to be honest while I find jazz often interesting and challenging in a live setting that isn’t always the case with recorded material.
On the other hand I’m always open to being convinced and in this case I was easily swayed by the name of the artist. Cecilie Strange. That’s right out of The Fast Show’s ‘Jazz Club’ TV comedy sketch in the 1990s – with Cecile joining the James Nance Quartet (“Theydon Bois on guitar, Clam on bass, Cecilie Strange on sax”) to play ‘Desolate Shore’.
Seriously now, Cecilie is an internationally celebrated Danish saxophonist and ‘Beech’ is her fifth album; one rooted in a profound connection to nature and memory, which each piece painting an evocative musical picture of a place that has left an indelible mark on her life: from New York, to Iceland, to Odense where she was raised, and Copenhagen which she now calls home.
Any of the six tracks would stand as a sample, there’s no filler here, with the instrumentation not fixated on the sax but including violin, piano, brushed drums, and what I’m guessing might be a vibraphone, in addition to her intriguing vocal which sounds like the Scandinavian farm kulning (animal calling) at times.
The track that really caught my attention is the first one, ‘A fairytale of a violin’, which could be the, or one of the, New York tracks, partly because of its title (a pun on ‘Fairytale of New York’?)and partly because she is known for her ability to tell stories through music.
As it turns out it is actually the one that tells of her childhood in Odense, so I couldn’t be more wrong.
But fixated on New York, I challenged myself – again – to hear a story in a track without lyrics. Its darkness and moody-ness suggested all sorts of New York derivatives such as West Side Story, Last Exit to Brooklyn and even Cloverfield but eventually I settled on one of my favourite novels/films from the 1980, The Warriors.
That film was set in 1970s New York and trailed a teenage gang from Coney Island trying to get back home after a citywide gang meeting involving thousands in Pelham Bay Park in The Bronx broke up in chaos when the main speaker was assassinated.
This piece is highly representative of New York’s dark streets if you want it to be, which were even more formidable then than they are now. I know because I used to go there often in the 70s, 80s and 90s, and somehow managed to escape the clutches of the Bryant Park slayer who murdered two people on the night I walked through it and a guy who confronted me at eight o’clock on a Sunday morning on 6th Avenue and later went on to murder six people and injure 20 on a Long Island train. You never forget a face when it’s right in yours.
Now I’ve bored you with those little stories I will say that Cecilie’s piece could easily have provided the score to The Warriors, with the depleted gang, being picked off by other gangs and cops alike, surreptitiously scurrying down unknown streets, riding and hiding in subway cars and encountering surreal adventures, including those of a romantic nature, as they plot their own personal Escape from Colditz.
She says, “I like to be aware of a place. To be part of a territory, in flesh and blood, rather than just observing it from afar.” And here you are right in the thick of it, even if that was never intended!
Meanwhile her sax work in the opening section will take your breath away. It sounds like she’s short-circuiting the entire city. I once saw Colin Stetson in concert and didn’t think anyone could match his ability on that instrument but this is pretty damn close.
‘Beech’ is released on April Records on 30th May, 2025.
Find her on:
Website (label): https://aprilrecords.com/artists/cecilie-strange-2/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cecilie.strange.85 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ceciliestrange/
