Playfully titled though it may be, in reference to the Beatles' famous "Norwegian Wood," this outing with Broo as leader allows the frequent sideman to seriously stretch his talents as composer, supported by two bassists (Torbjorn Zetterberg and Joe Williams) and a drummer (Hakon Mjaset Johansen). The result is some varied stuff held together by the wide palette of Broo's trumpet tone.
The most appealing aspect of Broo's sound is its vulnerability, as the tone appears at times to be on the verge of cracking, at times to swell with rich overtones, almost to bursting, and at other times a thin wisp of sound, like a breeze blowing through a crevice. And then he can blow up a storm, in a free flow of ideas, but always with a gentle feel, even as the tone gets edgy.
But that's just one appealing element. What really nails this set are the compositions and the instrumentation. The combination of drums, trumpet, and two basses opens the stage for a lot of up-close interaction, especially between percussion and trumpet, so the tunes here have a lot to do with rhythm. Themes are stated in sections defined by contrast in pulse, and development happens playing off the time feel, slowing down, speeding up, stretching the time, implying it or disregarding it, and layering poly-rhythms in the process, including the use of silence.
The most winning romp in the woods is, appropriately, the title track, which plunges ahead with some sweet repeating motivic cells and many moments of dreamy abandon where ideas float and settle like dust motes. Tunes of this order include "Acoustic Kitten" and "I am Coming Home."
A sort of European marching-band-gone-mad effect, à-la-Dave Douglas, appears in "And Suddenly," while "I Hear You" has Broo poignantly playing the blues. "New Weather" closes the disc as funky and bopping as it began, so that it's like coming out of the woods and wanting to run right back in again.
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