2001 · Album
Xieyi
Recorded December 17, 1999 (primary sessions); October 2, 2000 (brass quartet overdubs) · ECM · Artist: Anders Jormin
Bass and Brass in Quiet Conversation
Jormin's bass anchors these sessions with patient clarity, letting silence do as much work as sound.
Xieyi arrives as intimate and unhurried. Jormin's bass is the constant—deep, deliberate, sometimes sparse—while around it the sound shifts. On six tracks, an overdubbed brass quartet adds weight and color, warm and measured rather than bright. There's breathing room here. Nothing crowds the space. The overall mood is contemplative, the tempo rarely urgent, the textures clean and defined. You're not hearing a jam session or a demonstration of virtuosity. You're hearing composition and restraint.
Recorded across two sessions—the core tracks in December 1999 and the brass overdubs added later in 2000—the album sits somewhat apart from Jormin's collaborative work. This is his solo project, which means his vision drives the sound. The BBC Music review by Peter Marsh described it as an "impressive and rewarding release," and that fits. It's the kind of record that reveals itself over repeated listens rather than hitting hard on first contact. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings awarded it 3.5 out of 4 stars, marking it as solid and worth the time.
Xieyi isn't the album to start with if you want to hear Jormin at full tilt. It's the album to come back to if you already know his work and want to hear him thinking slowly, working with space the way a sculptor works with absence. The brass additions provide color without overwhelming the core conversation between composition and bass.
