Consistently pushing boundaries and finding innovative ways to recontextualise her music, Maria Dybbroe delivers a sensational third full-length offering alongside her Caktus quintet that represents some of her most inspired work to date.
And that's an incredibly bold statement in of itself!
For an artist that has presented her music across a variety of ensembles including Bloomers, JUMP, Køs and the aforementioned Caktus - or even as part of duo projects with cellist Jakob Kullberg or accordionist Artemis Vavatsika - the Danish saxophonist and composer relishes the boundless possibilities that lay within a blank canvas. With an affection for the freedom of improvisation as well as the meticulousness of chamber composition, Dybbroe's highly decorated and esteemed presence amidst the Scandinavian landscape of contemporary jazz continues to position her as a compulsory voice working today.
For 'Øyeblikk', Dybbroe further expands the Caktus ensemble by incorporating the Orchestra for Jazz Composers in Oslo - OJKOS. A fourteen piece collective that represents leading names amidst Oslo's burgeoning talent, 'Øyeblikk' is treated to an incredible perspective with Dybbroe at the helm who navigates a scintillating narrative across the album's five compositions.
With the album's title translating to "moment", the intimately personal project finds Dybbroe using each composition to revisit a moment, a place, a time in her life of notable significance. There's a delicious ambiguity about many of the stories being told here but, ultimately, 'Øyeblikk' is defined by its sublime presentation and elegant performances that find Dybrroe expertly able to convey moments of joy, lament and deep-seated moments of tenderness and affection. A definitively immersive listening experience, the music is bolstered with orchestral soundscapes and ambitious production with 'Øyeblikk' running the gamut of doting and warmth all the way to a track like 'Kalvøya' that revels in an intricate erraticism that captivates.
'Øyeblikk' is a genuinely inspired piece of art - inspired in musical scope and inspired through its very essence and motivational themes. Projects that find themselves created from such personal subject matter often become fascinating journeys for the artist to undertake just as much as it is for the listener.
While Maria Dybbroe's intention may very well be to revisit past moments, such journeys can easily become more about revisiting the person that experienced them rather than the time period itself. And in that way, 'Øyeblikk' transcends from a document of selected moments to memories that endure.
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