Solid Ether

Nils Petter Molvaer is a young Norwegian trumpeter whose allegiances lie less with Miles Davis than with the sonic architecture of ambient, jungle, and drum 'n' bass dance grooves. But since this is an ECM recording, you'd expect him to take a more abstract and ethereal approach, and he does. With the CD recorded in 1999 and only now released in the U.S., Molvaer is a little late to the fair, coming behind other electronica trumpeters including Tim Hagans, Jon Hassell, and Ben Neill, but his original approach to electronica groove creation, including mixing live rhythm sections with programmed beats, keeps it fresh. Molvaer orchestrates some effective grooves on the menacing "Dead Indeed" and the doomsday song of "Ligotage," but his improvisations rarely appear on the same page. His rhythms are hot and nasty, but his solos are muzzled, as if he's ruminating on the elaborate electro-percussion orchestrations. It's a great sound on the many open-ended, rhythm-free atmospheres that emerge on the album, but when the rhythm locks in, Molvaer sticks with the abstract ECM vibe rather than kicking out the jams. Guitarist Eivind Aarset gets some raucous licks in on the title track, but muted and slurred, Molvaer is content to inhabit his terrain like a wraith. --John Diliberto