Svein Finnerud Trio - Plastic Sun (Remastered) (2018)

A Norwegian Avant-Garde Classic. Svein Finnerud Trio was one of the strongest voices in the Norwegian avant-garde of the late ‘60s/early ‘70s. Unknown outside the country, the trio pioneered forms of musical expression that later found an international audience through the ECM albums of Jan Garbarek, Arild Andersen, and Terje Rypdal. In this context, Plastic Sun is a statement as essential as any other of the period. Now finally available in a remastered edition on CD and in a 180g audiophile LP pressing. The second half of the ‘60s and the first part of the ‘70s was defined by Bitches Brew, Joy, and Afric Pepperbird; Ornette Coleman, Paul Bley Trio, and Charles Lloyd Quartet with the young Keith Jarrett, and a list of innovators much longer than this. During this period, in which cold and hot wars gave rise to rebellion, experimentation, and demand for the transformation of stagnant political, social, and cultural conventions, including musical conventions, Svein Finnerud Trio represented a vital and complex voice in the Norwegian general public. When Plastic Sun was released in the summer of 1970, it was the second album from pianist Svein Finnerud (1945-2000), bassist Bjørnar Andresen (1945-2004), and drummer Espen Rud (b. 1948), and the fact that they completed the recording in one day says something about the trio’s familiarity with playful, spontaneous musicianship and finely-tuned intercommunication. The album presents a large, thoroughly contrasting stylistic range, from funky soul/R&B-like bass grooves and cheerful piano harmonies in a Jarrett-esque gospel/folk terrain, via meditative sections to sheer free improvisation and contemporary music beyond time and tonality, and the trio went a long way in dissolving the traditional distribution of roles between soloist and accompaniment in favour of collective improvisation.

Svein Finnerud Trio:
Svein Finnerud, piano
Bjørnar Andresen, bass
Espen Rud, drums