Thursday, August 8, 2024

TINTOMARA – Tintomara (Abra Cadabra Production, 1979) / Lek (Amigo, 1981)


Instrumental
International relevance: **/**

Before pianist Elise Einarsdotter became a respected name in jazz of her own, she was in late 70's/early 80's jazz quartet Tintomara along with for instance flautist Katarina Fritzén known for her work with visa singer Fred Åkerström and also appearing on a later album by Lena Ekman. Her flute is one of the most prominent features in Tintomara where she almost took on the role of a singer.

Tintomara's first, eponymous album (released on Danish imprint Abra Cadabra Production) is an incredibly tight performance with some latin touches and excellent ensemble playing. The sound is lush and airy making for an easy listen, but at the same time it's a bit unengaging. Everything is nice and there's nothing particularly wrong with it, but somehow it never concerns me much. It passes rather unnoticed despite several welcoming traits. Still better than their second album ”Lek” though.

Released on the higher profile label Amigo, ”Lek” is a much more produced affair with an overuse of smooth-over reverb. It's also an unwanted step closer to jazz fusion which is a rather ill-fitting garb for Tintomara who thereby sacrifice too much of the friendly spirit of their first effort.

Tintomara full album
Lek full album

No comments:

Post a Comment