Elsa Nilsson - Hindsight (2020)

Swedish flutist Elsa Nilsson, born in Gothenburg, has been living in the United States since she was 18 years old. In 2013, she received a master's degree from New York University, and three years later, in 2016, she won the prestigious jazz category of flute players. Nilsson actively performs in leading jazz clubs in New York, participates in festivals in the USA and his native Scandinavia. Among her partners you can find the names of John Crowhead, Brad Shepik, Jamie Baum and other famous jazz masters. Hindsight is her third album as a leader.

It was recorded with the participation of the Elsa Nilsson quartet, which is played by guitarist Jeff McLaughlin, bassist Alex Minier and drummer Cody Run. Elsa's album was very decent. Stylistically, it was performed at the intersection of different directions: many plays have a purely academic form, which is often interwoven with hard rock rhythm (and some guitar solos) and intricate improvisational, purely jazz moments. The best track of the album I would call Trickle Down. I would like to note the unconditional technical skills of Elsa and her partners. This is if we talk about music. But the pathos of Hindsight goes far beyond its scope.

Jazz was never an ivory tower and vividly responded to the state of society in which it lives. Suffice it to recall that free jazz was born as a reaction of black musicians to racial inequality in the United States. Hindsight Elsa Nilsson from the first to the last track is also a socio-political statement by means of music, in this case - jazz. This is not the first time I have come across works whose creators really dislike the current US President Donald Trump. Reverse options have not yet been observed. It remains to be noted that the vast majority of people of art, like many representatives of the intellectual elite of both coasts of the United States, met with hostility the election of Trump in 2016. This is just a statement, there will be no estimates. Nilsson is an ardent opponent of Trump and the changes that his election brought to the life of America. In each composition of her new album, the rhythmic structure is built on the basis of chanting slogans that sounded at demonstrations of people dissatisfied with his politics. Changed In Mid Air Condemns Migrant Restriction Act, Will Help Come? stigmatizing the delay in helping victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, Enough Is Enough calls for restrictions on arms sales in connection with yet another school execution. What Can I Do ?, dedicated to racial issues, Nilsson even wrote, using not the usual 12-ton system from Schonberg, but the eleven-ton system, emphasizing the lack of complete harmony in this area. Here is such a musical-jazz-political album. With him during 2020 (the album will be released in February) Nilsson is going to perform all over the country and make an appropriate clip for each track. The fight goes on! Your attitude to this music and its message is yours.