JONAS HELLBORG

THE WORD

  1/  Akasha                                     (Hellborg)                    0.54
  2/  Zat                                        (Hellborg)                    1.50
  3/  Saut-E Sarmad                              (Hellborg)                    3.28
  4/  Two Rivers                                 (Hellborg)                    4.32
  5/  Be! And All Became                         (Hellborg)                    3.19
  6/  Poets                                      (Hellborg,Williams)           2.36
  7/  Black Rite                                 (Hellborg,Williams)           6.29
  8/  Cherokee Mist                              (Hendrix)                     5.00
  9/  Miklagaard                                 (Hellborg)                    5.14
  10/ Path Over Clouds                           (Hellborg)                    3.27

          Recorded at Greenpoint Studio, Brooklyn, New York
          Engineered by Oz Fritz and Jason Corsaro
          Mixed by Jason Corsaro at Platinum Island
          Produced by Bill Laswell and Jonas Hellborg
          Mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk
          Business management for Material Inc: AGM Management - Tony Meilandt
Jonas Hellborg: Wechter acoustic bass guitar; Tony Williams: drums; SOLDIER STRING QUARTET - Laura Seaton: 1st violin; David Soldier: violin; Ron Lawrence: viola; Mary Wooten: cello.

String Arrangements by Jonas Hellborg

          1991 - Axiom/Island (USA), 422-848 374-2 (CD)
          2016 - Bill Laswell Bandcamp (digital only)
Note: Bill Laswell does not play on this album.

REVIEWS :

This is an intriguing and rather original set of music. Jonas Hellborg, whose conception of the acoustic bass guitar is much closer to a guitar than to a bass, teams up with drummer Tony Williams and the flexible Soldier String Quartet. The sparse sextet explores songs that (according to the liners) are influenced by Arab music, Jimi Hendrix, Tony Williams' Lifetime and Bartok. A variety of moods are explored and the unusual blend of instruments and styles grow in interest each time they are heard. It is a pity though that the playing time is less than 37 minutes.

4 stars out of 5

Scott Yanow courtesy of the All Music Guide website