"There is a sadness to Hoper's melodies, even when the music is designed to get the foot tapping. In part, this can be attributed to the sound prevalent in the Scandinavian jazz scene from where Hoper's quartet originates, but only so much can be traced back to geography; ultimately, its the heart of the musicians at the heart of the music. The music's sadness is channeled through the saxophone of Linus Lindblom, who achieves a tone that is light at its heart, but like a feather gently fluttering to the ground, there is no mistaking the effect gravity is having upon it. So it is with Lindblom's horn: no matter how buoyant he makes his tone, ultimately the heavier emotions will have their say. This is best displayed on the second track, "Olmed," which has Lindblom out front with a plaintive voicing of the melody on a composition that has the rest of the quartet in a spritely frame of mind. It creates a contradiction of emotion, and depending on which facet of the quartet the listener focuses most on at a particular time, the end result is a single composition with multiple faces." By DAVE SUMNER / allaboutjazz http://www.martinhoper.com
1. The Boys in My Hood (4:42) 2. Olmed (7:02) 3. The Bride (4:44) 4. South 3rd Saudade (5:49) 5. Cilantro (5:51) 6. Muttileinen (6:34) 7. Eriksberg (4:17) 8. Calibanos (5:51)
Personnel: Linus Lindblom: saxophone; Jonas Ostholm: piano; Chris Montgomery: drums; Martin Hoper: bass.
