Born in Denmark and currently based in Oslo, Norway, saxophonist Amalie Dahl is a composer, improviser, and bandleader of distinction on the contemporary scene. Amongst numerous projects is the quintet Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie, which has released two albums, beginning with a self-titled effort in 2022. Now there is Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie EXTENDED, as the 5-piece expands to a 12-piece unit with a double rhythm section. Combining free jazz abstraction with compositions that sway and groove, this large band’s debut, the 2LP set Live at Moldejazz, is out March 6 through Sonic Transmissions.
In addition to Dafnie, Amalie Dahl has released two albums under her own name. First came Memories, a CD issued by Sonic Transmissions in 2022, and then Breaking / Building Habits followed, an LP/CD on the Sauajazz label from last year. Additionally, Dahl has played in a leaderless trio with drummer Jomar Jeppsson Søvik and bassist Henrik Sandstad Dalen; they released the 2CD Live in Europe on Nice Things Records in 2024.
Other projects with releases include Noize R Us, Treen, and Superspreder. A constant across all of Dahl’s work is a disinterest in trad predictability, an absence that’s particularly notable in Dafnie, and now especially shines through in the lineup’s expansion. The list of personnel and their instruments will provide a tip-off for the uninitiated.
Along with composer Dahl on alto sax, Live at Moldejazz features Henriette Eilertsen on flute and electronics, Oscar Andreas Haug on trumpet, Jørgen Bjelkerud on trombone, Sofía Salvo on baritone sax, Ida Løvli Hidle on accordion, Anna Ueland on synthesizers, Lisa Ullén on piano, Nicolas Leirtrø and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten on double basses, and Trym Saugstad Karlsen and Veslemøy Narvesen on drums.
Live at Moldejazz opens with a blast of exquisitely controlled frenzy, then pivots into high-energy, recognizably jazzy forward motion, peppered with squeals, skronk, and torrid soloing. It’s clear that Dahl and the band are onto something major even before the first of Ida Løvli Hidle’s accordion spotlights.
There are moments of relative calm amid the sweeping compositional statements and the sweat heaves of collective abstraction. In “floating,” the largeness of the ensemble allows for the music to get diagonal as it hovers in a manner roughly congruent with Euro-Modernist models. But Dahl’s horn roars and moans with pure Impulse!/BYG-Actuel-ian classique heat. There are numerous moments across this set that harken all the way back to Coltrane’s Ascension (through Dave Burrell’s Echo).
Then, “drifting_turning” opens with a bowed-bass string maelstrom followed by more contemplative statements by the horns and the piano of Lisa Ullén. The intensity rises with some symmetrical patterns, then a gorgeous fanfare ushers in a terrific synth solo and a barrage of electronics.
“parallels” begins very spaciously and chamber moody. At times, it sounds like the basses getting bowed are as huge as California redwoods, and the way those tones blend with Hidle’s accordion buttons, Dahl’s statements for ensemble, and Jørgen Bjelkerud’s extended trombone solo mark the specialness of Live at Moldejazz.
At its worst, large band charts can succumb to Bloody, Sweaty, and Teary vibes of a severely unappealing nature, but Dahl assuredly nixes stale vamping throughout “slow motion,” instead imbuing her writing with warmth and smarts that feel more descended from Sun Ra and even Count Basie.
The intermingled flutters of Henriette Eilertsen’s flute and accordion that open “in flux” as the drummers roam around their kits is an utter treat before the momentum rises and a hefty groove emerges as synths wiggle, spurt, and squirt, and the flute just keeps on rolling. All this and Sofía Salvo’s baritone getting rough as the band takes some mighty swings.
More bass-string thunder-pluck opens the closing section, “longing,” as a lead-in to an interaction with compositional accents of beauty and restraint. Some larger phrases come in, Dahl leading the way, and then Oscar Andreas Haug delivers a wonderful solo passage recalling Hubbard at his 1960s best. The band then moves to a rousing conclusion.
On Live at Moldejazz, Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie EXTENDED conjures up the sort of joyful racket that’s truly necessary in hard times such as these. Put it in your earholes and gather the strength you need for survival in the difficult days ahead.
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