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Terje Rypdal: In A Miles Mood
R.J. DeLuke
R.J. DeLuke is an indefatigable jazz fan and arbiter elegantiarum who aspires to ultimate hipness; also an upstate NY freelance writer for various media.It's not the only recorded acknowledgement to Miles. Check out the opening to "Tough Enough from Terje Rypdal (ECM, 1971); or even parts of "Silver Bird is Heading For the Sun from Whenever I Seem To Be Far Away, (ECM, 1974).
Also on Vossabrygg are samples from Rypdal's long recorded history as a player, compiled by his son, Marius, who's listed as providing "samples, electronics and turntables for the recording. It's the first time Terje has worked with one of his children. A drummer in Norway, Marius uses samples derived from Rypdal's discography, especially "Ineo, for choir and chamber orchestra, from Undisonus (ECM, 1992). They are threaded through certain parts of the album, and Terje actually plays over some of the chordal movements he wrote a while ago.
"So that's very important too, says Terje. "He actually did some earlier versions without my knowledge. So I combined those things. It's a combination of all these things. And then what the musicians contributed is important of course.
Rypdal cooks throughout the disc, both in a fusion style that befits the homage, and also on his extended ethereal musings, like on "Hidden Chapter, (definitely not a Miles-influenced exploration.), a song that starts off dreamy, then plunges into modern funk, displaying his son's electronic work. "Waltz for Broken Hearts/Makes You Wonder finds Mikkelborg in a Miles-ian mood. "Jungeltelegrafen has the Miles electric feel as well, but the music isn't a copy, as it's laced with turntable sounds and other electronics from the younger Rypdal that weren't used by Miles. The song becomes mellower as it moves on, but the trumpet sounds come from Miles' language.
"Those years were special, he says of the later '60s and early '70s. "I actually played almost all of Jimi Hendrix's first album live. I came through that area. Through Jan Garbarek, George Russell, I got more and more into [jazz]. Somewhere along the way I got Meditations by John Coltrane. In the beginning, I didn't understand it, but it's been very important for me because it has the openness in the music that relates to the best in rock. The end of the '60s and beginning of the '70s was a beautiful period. It was a rich period.
Of "Ghostdancing he says, "It's not all the time you enjoy what you have done, but this one I do. He noted there is some thought being given to taking the music of "Then [Eric] Clapton made the album with John Mayall [and the Bluesbreakers], Rypdal continues. "That was very important. Then I started to listen to all the British players. Jeff Beck did a version of "Jeff's Boogie. It's quite difficult. And then Hendrix came. I think guitar players listen to each other all the time and learn new tricks. I left a concert with Steve Vai. It was brilliant. It never stops. Some of his influences over time have included Eddie Van Halen, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Charlie Byrd, and John McLaughlin. Rypdal started using Marshall amps during this period, but wasn't that familiar with them. He was trying to develop the guitar sound he was hearing. He had the good fortune of some help from a bonafide rock star. "We were in London recording in 1965 or 1966. Because of a friendship between our manager and Chris Blackwell, I was introduced to Stevie Winwood. He actually spent 10 minutes teaching me how to use a Marshall, which was very new at that time. We didn't have the knowledge. If he reads this, I would like to thank him, he laughs. "It was great. While playing, Rypdal studied composition under composer Finn Mortensen, and also began to study with jazz composer George Russell, whose work with modal music was a huge influence on the likes of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Eventually, Rypdal began performing music that was linked to jazz, with a group led by Russell, and one lead by Garbarek, who had played earlier with Terje in the band Dream. 
For Rypdal, the disc is the latest in a long line of ECM recordings and the latest document of a long musical journey that started in Oslo, where he was born. He studied piano at a young age and also trumpet for a time. On guitar, he is basically self-taught and he began playing in bands around town with that axe, which was emblematic of the rock scene in which hew grew up. In a group called The Vanguards, he played music of his early influences, the Shadows [guitarist Hank Marvin] and the Ventures. "I had a couple of lessons, Rypdal says. "But all my teachers, it ended up that we formed the first band I was in, The Vanguards. We played instrumental music in the beginning. I was about 14 when this happened. I could read music from piano playing. I could transfer that to the guitar. Before that, maybe I had four lessons or something.Shop for jazz:
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