Anders Malta INTRODUCING ANDERS MALTA ALMOST BIG BAND
ANDERS MALTA
INTRODUCING ANDERS MALTA ALMOST BIG BAND
April Records
Anders Malta, trumpet/flugelhorn/composer/arranger. RHYTHM: Carl Winther, piano/fender Rhodes; Rune Fog-Nielsen, double bass; Karl Wind Seyer-Hanson, drums/timpani/tam tam; TROMBONES: Tobias Stavngaard, lead; Daniel Ankjaer Clemmensen, bass trombone/tuba; TRUMPETS: Lars Vissing, lead & flugelhorn; Malthe Kaptain, 2nd trumpet/flugelhorn; Jonas Due, 3rd trumpet/flugelhorn; Dave Vreuls, lead trumpet/flugelhorn. SAXOPHONES: Aske Drasbaek, lead alto saxophone/flute; Soren Host, tenor saxophone/clarinet; Andreas Toftermark, tenor & soprano saxophone/flute; Jesper Løvdal, baritone saxophone/bass clarinet; Johan Jep Christensen, tenor saxophone/clarinet.
Based in the largest city of Denmark, this band has played once a month at Christiania Jazz Club in Copenhagen for a number of months. Here is their debut recording. After the opening Overture, the 13-piece band plays “Hardbop Conversations 1st Mov.” that starts as a ballad, morphs into a waltz and soon adds the ‘swing’ to the waltz featuring Anders Malta on a smokin’ hot trumpet.
Back in 2016, Danish trumpeter Anders Malta was a conservatory student. He was invited to participate in a reunion concert with the legendary Ernie Wilkins Almost big Band. They were the school’s special guests. Young Malta had never heard anything like that band. At that very moment, Anders Malta knew that he wanted to be part of such a congregation. In 2020, he made that dream a reality and introduced the Ander Malta Almost Big Band.
On “Hardbop Conversations 3rd Mov., The Call, The Wait & The Answer” Malta is out front on his trumpet having a conversation with the wind, backed up by a tight horn section and a pumping acoustic bass player, Rune Fog-Nielsen. This is the third part of a three-piece suite of music. The band’s final section is truly rooted in bebop. Aske Drasbaek is dynamic on his alto saxophone solo.
This album includes nine songs, all composed, arranged and conducted by Anders Malta. Showing a completely different side of himself, including a taste of smooth jazz with a commercially viable tune called “Pelle’s Little Tune,” Ander’s features Pelle Von Bulow on guitar. It’s a happy tune with a catchy melody portrayed by the brilliance of Von Bulow’s talent. Malta has arranged the big band to come in now and then, with horns placed like an exclamation mark at the end of the phrases. This is solid arranging. I fell in love with this tune that closes out the Anders Malta Almost Big Band album. This tune should get lots of airplay and sounds like a hit record to me.
Anders Malta belongs to a young breed of musicians who reflect a deep love for and knowledge of the jazz tradition. However, the bandleader brings his own flavor and feeling into this music with his very well-written compositions and excellent arrangements. This is a star in the making.
Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil
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