Rubicon

Trygve Seim: tenor and soprano saxophones; Eirik Hegdal: soprano, baritone sax, clarinet and bass clarinet; Thomas Dahl: guitar; Rob Waring: marimba and vibraphone; Harmen Fraanje: piano, Fender Rhodes; Mats Eilertsen: double bass; Olavi Louhivuori: drums

Norwegian bassist Mats Eilertsen has been a strong and supportive presence on a dozen ECM sessions to date. With Rubicon he steps forward to present his own music, with an international cast.

The album features compositions originally written in response to a commission from the Vossajazz Festival.

All About Jazz reviewed the premiere performance: Rubicon proved to be a very dynamic work. Eilertsen ensured that each of the instrumentalists took their share of the spotlight, brought together combinations of players that emphasized tonal variation, and created ensemble sections bursting with life.

After fine-tuning the material on tour, Mats brought his septet to Oslos Rainbow Studio, where Manfred Eicher produced this definitive version of Rubicon in May 2015.