(Elsa Nilsson and the Band of Pulses in performance at Rizzoli; photo by James Koblin)
Sustaining performance spaces for creative music in New York City has always been challenging work, so it’s great to celebrate a new place to see live music. How perfect, then, to enjoy a well-attended concert of top-flight music at the beautiful Rizzoli Bookstore. On September 29th I had the pleasure of hearing Elsa Nilsson and her quartet, Band of Pulses, amidst the store’s glossy art books and high ceilings as part of the “Music Aperitivo” series hosted by Rizzoli in conjunction with Mondo Jazz. The early hit time on a Sunday (5 PM) and a complimentary glass of wine with a reasonable cover price make attendance here an easy sell. That seemed to have been the case at last Sunday’s concert, where a full house came out in spite of the rainy afternoon.
In his opening remarks at the concert, Mondo Jazz radio host and concert emcee Luigi Granvassu observed how Nilsson’s music fits well in the surroundings because of its connection to poetry. Nilsson and her band play music that explicitly incorporates poetry into composition and performance, not to mention the poetry of Nilsson’s sound itself. During the concert, she switched back and forth between a concert C flute and a larger bass flute, always with a rounded and complex sound and the resonant overtones that make the flute so naturally evocative. It’s an aesthetic that’s a pleasure to hear live.
My entry point for Nilsson’s music comes from her 2022 release with the geographically specific title Atlas Of Sound – Coast Redwoods – 41°32’09.8″N 124°04’35.5″W. I stumbled across this album on Bandcamp in mid-2022 without knowing anything about Nilsson. Seeing its “pay what you wish” price, I bought it and listened with no particular expectations. I remember being really moved by the quiet beauty of the music, which is based on improvisations Nilsson recorded during a post-pandemic trip to the Pacific Northeast. Coast Redwoods is the first of a planned series that creates “a long-form musical exploration of humanity’s connection to place.” It’s an album I can easily recommend because of the eloquence of the compositions and flute playing, as well as the strong connection between Nilsson’s flute playing and Jon Cowherd’s piano.
In concert at Rizzoli, Nilsson didn’t play anything from Coast Redwoods, but instead, she and her band performed the first half of the forthcoming second edition of the “Atlas Of Sound” series, out on October 11, 2024. Based on what I heard performed from Quila Quina – -40°17’38.21”N, -71°45’68.48”S, there’s just as much haunting beauty as its predecessor. During the concert, Nilsson explained that the continuing inspiration of this music is in the sounds and rhythms of nature, this time from her trip to the Patagonian region of Argentina. The four compositions she and her band played from this album find inspiration in bird songs, the medicinal properties of plants, and the calm, serene lake where Nilsson stayed. I’m pretty excited about this new release. Check it out next Friday!
But the revelation for me during the Rizzoli set was Nilsson’s ambitious long-form composition Pulses, a forty-minute piece that comprised the majority of the concert. Nilsson built the composition Pulses around the voice of Maya Angelou in her poem “On The Pulse of Morning,” which Dr. Angelou famously read at President Bill Clinton’s 1993 inauguration. Introducing Pulses to the audience, Nilsson said she was able to purchase the rights to use Angelou’s poem, and together with her band, she developed music based on the pitches of Dr. Angelou’s voice. During the performance of this work, Nilsson would periodically use a pedal to trigger a sample of Dr. Angelou reading “On The Pulse of Morning,” over which the band would play unison parts that highlighted the rich musicality and still-relevant meaning of a poem about how America can find a hopeful future despite the “wrenching pain” of history. Pulses brought out an exciting side of Nilsson’s playing; while on the “Atlas of Sound” material, her playing is attractive and melodic, on Pulses, her flutes were much more aggressive, with an often thrilling attack.
There was also plenty of space for the band to shine, and everyone made great solo statements. Santiago Leibson plays the piano in the recording of Pulses and the new “Atlas of Sound,” but as Rizzoli doesn’t have a piano, he played keyboards at the concert. Nothing felt amiss, however, and in his playing, I heard kernels of melody that he would develop into convincing solo statements. The bassist, Marty Kenney, and drummer, Rodrigo Recabarren, also played wonderfully (I liked the bass solo Kenny played in mid-set), but the band’s togetherness was the real star. This band developed and composed the Pulses material together and played the unison parts with the authoritativeness that comes from a deep connection to the material, and also moved easily between the written and improvised sections. It’s a great band. For a sample from the concert, check out this video, which captures one of Nilsson’s solos. If you have the chance to see Nilsson and her band perform Pulses, don’t miss the opportunity; it’s a remarkable work that is just extraordinary live. You can also purchase the recording from Bandcamp. Nilsson and her Band of Pulses are on tour right now, with stops in the next month in California, Arizona, and back in New York on 10/23 at ShapeShifter Lab (in a double bill with Brad Shepik), and next month on 11/23 at Lydia’s Jazz Cafe in Stone Ridge.
After the show, I spoke to Nilsson about Pulses, and she told me that the inspiration was from the musical quality of Angelou’s voice, whose phrasing reminded her of Ornette Coleman’s melodies. Nilsson also mentioned John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, one of the definitive examples of connecting the voice and jazz playing in a suite form. In both the “Atlas” volumes and Pulses, Nilsson’s music emphasizes interconnectedness – between nature and humanity and between the voice, the word, and her playing. This music acts as an agent to bond, heal, and make the universe a little bigger. At Rizzoli Bookstore, these were connections that the audience could hear, participate in, and feel the power of music to heighten feeling and awareness of the world.
Nilsson Notes, More Mondo Jazz and Maya Angelou
Elsa Nilsson on the Web
Nilsson has a very complete website where you can keep up with everything she’s doing. Her albums are available on Bandcamp for extremely reasonable prices, showing how much she wants to share this music with you. As I mentioned above, but will repeat here – Nilsson has a new album coming out this Friday, October 11 – Quila Quina – -40°17’38.21”N, -71°45’68.48”S. Based on the portion of the music she played at Rizzoli, I can tell you it’s gorgeous.
Catch the next “Music Aperitivo”
I again recommend checking out this excellent series of concerts at Rizzoli. The next one will be on October 20, a tribute to Federico Fellini and Nino Rota as well as the 60th anniversary of Rizzoli. The link for the concert is here.
Listen to Mondo Jazz
“Music Aperitivo” is the brainchild of Luigi Granvassu, who also hosts the Mondo Jazz radio show on internet station Radio Free Brooklyn. Mondo Jazz airs every Wednesday from 10 PM to Midnight, where Granvassu plays new and recent jazz albums. His show is especially invaluable for its focus on European jazz, which otherwise does not get much notice in the United States, and Granvassu is an expert on that scene. I can’t tell you how many artists and albums I’ve discovered through his show – you should listen. If you can’t catch Mondo Jazz live, the shows are posted in podcast form a week later (usually how I listen). Here is the link to Mondo Jazz on Apple Podcasts.
More Maya Angelou
I only vaguely remember Dr. Angelou reading “On The Pulse of Morning” at the 1993 Clinton inauguration, so it was a blast to revisit this moment in history. Angelou was the first African American and first woman to read a poem at a Presidential inauguration, and her style of clear declarative oration is remarkable – I’ve watched this clip several times. Here’s a link to the poem’s full text, a valuable aid to enjoying Nilsson’s masterful Pulses. I’m no expert on Angelou’s work, which makes me really grateful to Nilsson for her multidisciplinary creation – it opens doors for the listener that may have not been opened before.