Exploding Customer - At Tampere Jazz Happening

Jeff Stockton, AllAboutJazz

There was a reason Eric Dolphy, Albert Ayler and others gravitated to Scandinavia to practice their art: Norwegians, Finns and Swedes seem to love our music. Exploding Customer, a piano-less quartet from Sweden which recorded this disc live at a gig in Finland, is reminiscent of the Eric Dolphy/Booker Little partnership at the Five Spot, without being derivative. And when composer and leader Martin Küchen switches from alto to tenor, he and trumpeter Tomas Hallonsten approach the brotherly communication of Albert and Donald Ayler.

This jazz is joyful, brimming with life. “Mr. BP (D)” gets things off to a rousing start, like a sabre dance, as if guys were throwing knives across the stage to each other. Küchen’s tone is raggedly intense and contrasts nicely with drummer Kjell Nordeson, who swings with the loose rhythm of the late Ed Blackwell. All of the tools come together on the disc’s centerpiece “The Crying Whip” as the drums come in waves, Hallonsten plays with a Latin flourish and bassist Benjamin Quigley drives the tune behind Küchen.

It’s a visceral thrill.