Eirik Hegdal, saxophones/clarinettes
Trygve Seim, saxophones
Thomas T Dahl, guitar
Rob Waring, vibraphone/marimba
Harmen Fraanje, piano/fender rhodes
Olavi Louhivuori, drums
Mats Eilertsen, bass
“with Rubicon, Eilertsen steps confidently up to the spotlight as leader, delivering an album that, with lessons learned from his existing body of work, opens his music up to even greater interpretive possibilities than ever before”
“The band swings with a seductive lightness, and the quality of the tunes and the ever-changing tonal interest keep lifting the predominantly low-lit mood”
http://vossajazz.no/artist/mats-eilertsen-rubicon-tingingsverket-2014
Some pictures:
http://matseilertsen.com/RubiconRecording/
http://matseilertsen.com/Rubicon/
a another little video to be found here
“with Rubicon, Eilertsen steps confidently up to the spotlight as leader, delivering an album that, with lessons learned from his existing body of work, opens his music up to even greater interpretive possibilities than ever before”
Review in AllAboutJazz
“The band swings with a seductive lightness, and the quality of the tunes and the ever-changing tonal interest keep lifting the predominantly low-lit mood”
Review in The Guardian
“subtle sophistication at work”
“It all amounts to a slithering snake of an album, soft, discreet, mysterious and, in spots, absolutely gorgeous.”
“Eilertsen may not be a jaw-dropping funky plucker like Stanley Clarke but his twin talents of composition and being a team player is tantamount to being a leader by example.”
“For meg er dette mitt første møte med “Rubicon” og jeg bryter gjerne sammen og tilstår at dette er noe av det vakreste av musikk som har kommet i nærhetene av mitt sanseapparat på svært lenge”
“fra første til siste takt så er “Rubicon” på god vei til å få evig liv og forhåpentligvis klassiker-status.”
Tor Hammerø
“Og det er som om musikken smyg seg inn på deg, vedunderleg og vakker.”
Dagsavisen/ Roald Helgheim
“The pieces on Rubicon travel in a number of directions, subtly melding improvisation and composition, but all retain an overall atmosphere of calm composure and elegant grace.”
Dusted Mag Joseph Burnett
“a loose- limbed, folk-inflected ensemble sound”
Irish Times Cormac Larkin
“Plata er full av solistiske gullkorn frå alle i ensemblet, men dei er fint integrert i det heilskaplege musikalske forløpet. Eilertsen kasta terningen, og det blei ein seksar”
Dag og Tid, Lars Mossafinn
“Han har sørget for å la en omhyggelig utpønsket klangpalett gi stemning, dybde og spenning til melodiene, så vel de enkle, korte temaene som de lengre «fortellingene», og dette klanglig komplekse ensembleuttrykket er sammen med en lavmælt kompositorisk grunnstemning særpreget nok til at «Rubicon» får et helhetlig verk-preg.”
“Alle, ham selv inkludert, leverer kor med fynd og klem og stor troverdighet, og bidrar også på den måten til at «Rubicon» er blitt et album som forener vakker, melodibasert stillferdighet og improvisatorisk temperament på begeistrende vis.”
Indeed, the way piano, mallet instruments and guitar inhabit the same sonic space without getting in each other’s way and still ending up with the overall sound as spacious as this is a real feat.
A gorgeous album that is growing in importance for me with each listen.
Eilertsen steps confidently up to the spotlight as leader, delivering an album that, with lessons learned from his existing body of work, opens his music up to even greater interpretive possibilities than ever before.
Rubicon delivers a series of fine compositions that explore various combinations of intimate, exploratory sounds along (mostly) subtle color lines and elegantly arrayed textural palettes. They evoke an inherent lyricism that, for all its restraint, is tonally expansive and harmonically smart.
Thom Jurek, All Music
Review of the premiere from AllAboutJazz
From Eilertsen’s solo bass introduction to the final few seconds of Harmen Fraanje’s solo piano the composition moved through passages of great power, solid 4/4 grooves, dynamic rhythms and reflective, meditative interplay. The piece lasted for around 75 minutes but held the attention to such an extent that time seemed to pass much more quickly.
Eilertsen had chosen a strong group of musicians to work with and gave each one the chance to stamp his own character on the music.
AllAboutJazz
Frå dei vakraste godnattsongar til fullt vaksenøs og attende, her var det noko for alle aldrar, begge kjønn – og vel så det.
Eigentleg var dette filmmusikk på sitt aller beste, fordi det var så assosiasjonsskapande og laga slike vedunderlege bilete i hovuda våre. Heilt frå oppvakninga i den fyrste låten, og til stormen la seg etter at synte tone døydde ut,
Viss ikkje dette tingingsverket kjem på plate, må ein eller annan gå på rommet sitt og tenkja seg vel om.
Avisa Hordaland
a fantastic band of musicians taking us through a rollercoaster-journey between the mighty and lyrical, the individual and collective, with Eilertsen himself majestetically, not only in total control, but also executing his own role as a bassplayer exquisite, almost timide, and as in the spirit of the Charles Mingus he praise high both as arranger and musician, all the way holding the band in his hands, before a supreme ending…
Dagsavisen