Continuum is an album by Swiss pianist and composer Nik Bärtsch's Mobile recorded in Switzerland in 2015 and released on the ECM label.[1]
| Continuum | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Nik Bärtsch's Mobile | ||||
| Released | April 22, 2016 | |||
| Recorded | March 2015 | |||
| Studio | Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI, Lugano | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 68:19 | |||
| Label | ECM ECM 2464 | |||
| Producer | Manfred Eicher | |||
| Nik Bärtsch chronology | ||||
| ||||
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| PopMatters |   [3] |
| All About Jazz | [4] |
The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek states "Continuum is European jazz rife with funkiness; it's just more specific sound. It may require a closer listen, at least initially, but once experienced, its depth and constancy are unmistakable".[2] They also selected it as one of their Favorite Jazz Albums of 2016.[5]
PopMatters' John Garratt said "While their playing can be every bit as spritely as Ronin, Continuum captures Mobile in a low, pensive light. This isn’t to say that the music isn’t as successful overall, it’s just that establishing a warm sense of intimacy with it is going to take a little work on your part".[3]
All About Jazz reviewers said, "With its variety of styles, Continuum is the best of Mobile's albums to date, despite the very high bar set from the beginning"[4] and "there's little doubt that those who've become fans of Ronin's more eminently groove-laden music will be (if they weren't already) ready for this group's richer compositional rigor...for whom the term Continuum is, indeed, wholly appropriate for its broader-spectrum'd musical treasures".[6]
London Jazz News' John L. Walters noted "Bärtsch's music is always urgent but never in a hurry, and his sidemen follow the leader’s calm self-discipline. What improvisation there is takes place within the broad structures of the compositions – Mobile may not be a ‘blowing’ band in the jazz sense of the word, but it interprets the music as if it were".[7]
In JazzTimes, Steve Greenlee wrote "There is a clean, icy quality to this music — a hallmark of Scandinavian jazz — that invites comparisons to electronica and to the work of Philip Glass and film composer Thomas Newman... Continuum, beginning to end, is mesmerizing".[8]
Track listing
editAll compositions by Nik Bärtsch.
- "Modul 29_14" - 8:59
- "Modul 12" - 9:02
- "Modul 18" - 8:03
- "Modul 5" - 8:32
- "Modul 60" - 9:27
- "Modul 4" - 5:26
- "Modul 44" - 10:23
- "Modul 8_11" - 8:32
Personnel
edit- Nik Bärtsch – piano
- Sha – bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet
- Kaspar Rast, Nicolas Stocker – drums, percussion
- Etienne Abelin, Ola Sendecki – violin
- David Schnee – viola
- Ambrosius Huber, Solme Hong – cello
References
edit- ^ ECM discography accessed September 14, 2016
- ^ a b Jurek, Thom. Nik Bärtsch – Continuum > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
- ^ a b Garratt, John (April 27, 2016). "Nik Bärtsch's Mobile: Continuum". popmatters.com. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
- ^ a b Ackermanm, Karl (March 31, 2016). "Nik Bärtsch's Mobile: Continuum". Musical reviews. All About Jazz.
- ^ Allmusic Favorite Jazz Albums of 2016
- ^ Kelman, J. All About Jazz Review, April 15, 2016
- ^ Walters, J. L. London Jazz News Review, August 8, 2016
- ^ Greenlee, S. JazzTimes Review, June 2016