Jon Balke

Magnetic North Orchestra
Per Jørgensen trumpet
Morten Halle saxophones, flute
Arve Henriksen trumpet
Svante Henryson cello
Jon Balke piano, keyboards
Anders Jormin double-bass
Audun Kleive drums, percussion

Phanai
Zygotos
Mutatio
Ganglion
Katabolic
In vitro
Plica
Nano
Karyon
Kyanos
Apsis

Recorded November 2001

The first ECM album in nine years by Norwegian pianist/composer/arranger Jon Balke and his “orchestra”, now streamlined to a septet of top-flight Scandinavian soloists. “Kyanos” is Greek for “blue”, and the album pulsates with intense colour. Balke has developed into an exceptionally skilled arranger and his blending of textures as well as his strong melodic sense are to the fore in this striking and arresting album. Like Duke Ellington or Gil Evans before him, Balke writes with the idiosyncratic sounds and personalities of his musicians in mind, and makes the fullest use of the resources available to him. He still understands jazz as “the sound of surprise”, and his melodies take unexpected turns.