released November 8, 2018

Gabo
ibnmusik (ibn 005)

Per Gärdin: alto/soprano saxophones

Recorded in Stockholm march 8th & april 12th 2018
by Patricio Cabezas
Mixed and mastered by Per Gärdin
Cover photo by Elisabet Risberg

"The third solo sax album of Swedish autodidact Per Gärdin – following «In Situ» and «Loos», both released on his own label Ibnmusik (2010, 2012), continue his experimental, searching approach to the sonic possibilities of the saxophone. «Gabo» was recorded in two sessions in Stockholm during the spring of 2018.

Gärdin playing here is rough, urgent and direct. He intentionally avoids any extended techniques, often sounds as emotionally detached but occasionally flirts with melodic veins. The titles of the pieces refer to ancient Indian, Greek and Arabic treaties about astronomy. Gärdin sounds in his element in this tasking, solitary art. He knows how to build carefully the tension, to play with few inventive ideas and even rhythmic pulses and sketch a loose narrative as on «Almagest» or the transparent and ethereal, «Aryabhatiya», the most experimental piece where the sax serves as a conduit of air air breathes.

«Yisizhan» suggest a meditational atmosphere, where silences are as important as the sax sounds. «Suwar al-Kawakib» sounds surprisingly playful and rhythmic. Gärdin concludes this celestial sonic treatise with «Kochab & Pherkad», titled after two stars in the outer bowl of Big Dipper. This is the only piece where Gärdin allows himself to play briefly in a clear emotional tone and express the lyrical essence of his solo endeavour."
Eyal Hareuveni
salt-peanuts.eu/record/per-gardin/


"A month ago attention was paid on this site to the CD Adhara by Swedish musicians Lars Bröndum (synthesizer and theremin) and Per Gärdin (alto and soprano saxophone). Six months earlier, the latter released a solo album, entitled Gabo , and that is a case of 'better late than never pay attention to'. The saxophonist not only knows how to handle small instrumentations, often with an unusual set of instruments, but also appears to be performing interesting work as a solo artist.

Gärdin is initially an autodidact musician, but later he also studied saxophone. He also studied musicology, ethnology, philosophy and the history of ideas at the University of Stockholm. Gärdin had been experimenting with electronics in the electronic music studio in the Swedish capital since the late 1970s, where a Buchla synthesizer was combined with wind instruments. In addition, the saxophonist also played modern classical music and could be found in all kinds of small ensembles.

A trip to Portugal in 2013/2014 resulted in three beautiful editions: History of the Lisbon Chaplaincy (with Rodrigo Pinheiro on church organ and Pedro Lopes on turntable percussion), Oblique Mirrors (with Pinheiro on piano, Marco Franco on drums and percussion and Travassos on electronics) and Oblique (trio) (with Franco and Travassos). Before that, Gärdin released two solo albums: In Situ (2010) and Loos (2012).

Gabo followed in November last year . The Swede shows that solo album fills the room with apparent ease and knows how to fascinate you with just one instrument (alto or soprano sax). The saxophonist does this without using robust techniques. Nevertheless, his free music has an emphatically rough edge, because Gärdin is not concerned with making sweet-voiced or melodious jazz, but with sound research, testing the possibilities of his instrument and searching for and even crossing boundaries.

In all experiments, Gärdin seems to have complete control and to play his game in peace, even though the notes follow each other in rapid succession and he is on the verge of blowing. That is a contradiction, but it is also what makes Gärdin's music so attractive to listen to. In addition, there is also something melodic to experience in the urge of action of the saxophonist.

Gabo has six pieces. Opener 'Surya Siddhanta' is short. The first few short motifs remind the late Steve Lacy, but the comparison soon becomes flawed, because Gärdin's tone (less dry) and play (softer) are really different. Melody fragments fly around your ears and the Swede enriches his playing with vibrators and repeating patterns. A good number of ideas are displayed in two and a half minutes.

All other pieces on the album are longer than eight minutes. In 'Almagest' we hear Gärdin explore the area between clean blowing and over blowing for the first time. The boundary to the top register is regularly crossed, but the musician does not get stuck in it. The range of the saxophone is exploited and with finger-fast playing Gärdin manages to make melodic and rhythmic music at the same time. The music sounds close; You also hear the valves and sometimes the breathing of the saxophonist. There seems to be no end to the flow of ideas and although the music never lingers in the same pattern for a long time, it is not difficult to discover logic in the spontaneous saxophone playing.

'Aryabhatiya' is extremely exciting, in which Gärdin explores another boundary: that between air and tone. You hear the valves of the saxophone doing overtime, but what you hear in tones does not correspond with that. At the same time, Gärdin only blows air through the tube, but tones also escape the instrument. The air that is blown acts as a long note, while the tones and valves form unbalanced patterns. The treble produced by the saxophonist means that the sax sometimes almost sounds like a flute. By the way, you not only hear the air being blown into the instrument, but Gärdin's inhalation also plays a role in improvisation.

In 'Yisizhan' the Swedish musician is not busy making a constant stream of sound, but he drops short silences between the different short and somewhat longer phrases. The playing is high, initially with many long notes and with a combination of techniques, and even now the air blown through the instrument can be heard. Gärdin creates a field of tension, both with what he plays and with what he does not play: the silence.

Gärdin is on a nut hunt in 'Suwar-al-Kawakib'. The soprano sax notes flutter around you like bats, where the melodic aspect of the music stands out: Gärdin does not fall into manners or mere repetitive motifs, but lays fast melody lines that follow each other at a dizzying pace. There are some patterns to be discovered in the piece, but the Swede varies on that and as a result, such a pattern never sounds the same twice.

The album ends with 'Korchab & Pherkad', with Gärdin on alto sax. The technique of blowing air, the sound of the valves of the instrument, vibrators and the use of the range of the instrument, including the top register: it all came to pass earlier on the album, but here the different playing techniques are slightly different combined. The similarity is that in this improvisation a great deal of feeling is laid in all activities and the musician also has a lot to say melodically.

The last sentence can be the first conclusion. Gärdin knows how to combine technology and feeling perfectly. The experiment and the research are paramount, but that is not at the expense of transparency. The music is technically clever, inventive, playful and imaginative. Gabo is well worth the late attention."
opduvel.com/2019/07/04/per-gardin-gabo/