John Moulder Bifrost CD

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 band morph into an early morning, introspective sound. 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. BIFROST is an excellent piece of work.

For the follow up to his epic 2006 release, Trinity, Chicago guitarist John Moulder presents a collaboration with the critically acclaimed Norwegian jazz musicians - saxophonist Bendik Hofseth, and bassist Arild Andersen, the French Academie du Jazz's "2

Recording information: 7 Etage, Oslo, Norway (01/2005-09/2005); Chicago, IL (01/2005-09/2005).

Personnel: John Moulder (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar); Bendik Hofseth (tenor saxophone); Arild Andersen (double bass); Brian Peters (fretless bass, programming); Paul Wertico (drums, percussion).

Audio Mixer: Brian Peters.