London Odense Ensemble : Live At Jaiyede Jazz Festival

When you’re as tight, forward-thinking, and exploratory as London Odense Ensemble it’s hard not to keep striking while the iron’s hot. The five-piece fusion/cosmic jazz collective is made up of Danish musicians Jonas Munk(guitar), Martin Rude(bass), and Jakob Skøtt(drums); as well as London-based Tamar Osborn(saxophone, winds) and Al MacSween(keyboards). A fruitful recording session back in 2021 gave birth to two amazing records, Jaiyede Sessions Vol. 1(2022) and Jaiyede Sessions Vol. 2(2023).

If you ever got light-headed and woozy eyeing a stack of classic early 70s ECM LPs, got down with John Abercrombie and Gateway, or felt the weight of something like Coltrane’s(John or Alice) late 60s spiritual heft on a rainy Saturday afternoon then London Odense Ensemble is your kind of trip. They lock into grooves and shades of more intellectual jazz, but also can take things to a more cosmic level. Tamar Osborn’s ethereal flute and heady saxophone gives the proceedings an airiness, while Al MacSween’s keys and synth explorations add a spacey psychedelia. The trio of Munk, Rude, and Skøtt are the engine under the hood of this classic and refined beast. Together there’s a magic happening here that only these five can create when together in the studio.

Or, even on the stage.

Back in 2021 LOE donned the stage of Denmark’s Jaiyede Jazz Festival and let the vibes and improvisational Gods lead them into musical transcendence. The results are embedded on Live At Jaiyede Jazz Festival, a three-track jazz/psych/fusion monolith of an LP that sees a band spreading out and seeing where the sonic muse takes them.

London Odense Ensemble’s Live At Jaiyede Jazz Festival is a record to be experienced and encapsulated in, rather than dissected track by track. Musically this is a very dense and intellectual sound experience, but as the listener you want to experience these sessions in a very visceral, emotional way. Leaving intellectual preconceptions in another room, this album is for deep basement sessions; cranked up hi-fi, lost in the haze, and take the ride. That’s how this record should be enjoyed.

The songs on here are nearly all non-album tracks. “Energy Ascending” sprawls over the whole of side A, laying out 15:37 of sonic tonic for the soul. It has it all; a pastoral beginning with dreamy flute reminiscent of Eric Dolphy, but opens into crystalline guitars, keys and a swinging rhythm that brings to mind the progressive fusion/soul of early CTI recordings. But as it builds the guitar dirties to an almost early 90s grit and the songs swing only gets harder and deeper. The whole band shines here, with Tamar Osborn really coloring this one in rich blue hues and Al MacSween bringing some gorgeous Herbie Hancock flavor mid-way in with his sublime keys.

Side two opens with “Sojourner”, a Jaiyede Sessions Vol. 1 track that stunned with its studio version. Live it soars and expands with interdimensional life. “Sojourner” opens up into the improvisational beast “Exit Momentum”, a synth-heavy cosmic trip that sees the London Odense Ensemble blowing minds with a nearly 9-minute jam that brings to mind everything from Terry Riley, Detroit punk, to Eternal Tapestry’s Pacific Northwest THC-soaked psych excursions. It’s the kind of inspired musical experience that one walks away from changed.

London Odense Ensemble has become one of the most exciting music collectives I’ve heard in recent years. Their musical coming together of jazz, psych, improvisation, and above all else a sense of adventurous sound exploration are infectious, and quite frankly inspiring to my ears. This isn’t the kind of band you’re going to have the chance to see live much, and if you’re anywhere outside of Denmark those chances drop significantly. So do yourself a favor and snag LOE’s Live At Jaiyede Jazz Festival while you can. It’s inspiring, and one hell of a trip.

London Odense Ensemble’s ‘Live At Jaiyede Jazz Festival’ drops 8/4. Preorder it here.