Crime Scene (Live)

On 2010’s Crime Scene, veteran Norwegian electric guitar slinger Terje Rypdal leads a quartet abetted by the Bergen Big Band, a crack unit directed by Olav Dale. Both the core group — Rypdal, trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg, organist Ståle Storløkken from the band Supersilent, and drummer Paolo Vinaccia, who also contributes samples — and the larger ensemble shine on this live recording. 13 of the 14 pieces were composed by Rypdal (Vinaccia wrote “Parli con me?!”), and snippets of hard-boiled film dialogue lend the album a loose thematic quality. At times, Rypdal and Storløkken burn and wail like rock stars on the loose while at other points, lovely horn arrangements fill the air. Three members of the woodwind section play bass clarinet; the opening cut, “Clint - The Menace,” places those instruments’ deep, wooden timbres against samples of dramatic tough-guy talk. On “Investigation,” the full power of the big band and the rock sounds of the smaller group combine to create a sonic juggernaut that evokes electric Miles Davis. “Crime Solved” brings the album to a quiet close as trumpet plays over a lovely backdrop.