At the beginning of
Bifrost, the sound from
John Moulder and his half-American, half-Norwegian quintet is fairly exploratory, ambient. By the end of that first title track, though, the sound has developed into full electric guitar mania.
Moulder has his way with his guitar, to say the least. Quickly going into the next piece, though,
Moulder and the band morph into an early morning, introspective sound. It may sound an odd comparison, but from track to track,
Moulder shows a willingness to expand the boundaries of basic guitar solos, hitting territories that aren't traditionally the domain of jazz proper -- similar in many ways to some of the work being done by other instrumentalists (such as
Jake Shimabukuro, who started in other genres but found jazz as an element along the way). By the time the album nears its close with the longer, exploratory "Cold Sea Triptych,"
Moulder's compositional abilities have become clear, cleverly mixing Chicago nightclub cool and melodic exploration with European ambience and instrumental experimentation.
Moulder's guitar remains the star for much of the course, but the other players make themselves integral parts of the whole whenever called upon. An excellent piece of work. ~ Adam Greenberg