Exploding Customer - At Tampere Jazz Happening

Stuart Kremsky, IAJRC Journal

The four members of Scandinavia's Exploding Customer seems to be having the time of their lives performing Live at Tampere Jazz Happening. Their brand of freebop is wild and wooly, and it shouldn't take most listeners long to decide whether or not to hear more. Saxophonist Martin Küchen wrote all the tunes. One key influence is the acoustic music of Ornette Coleman and its echoes and reverberations through the decades, but there's also bits of circus music, marches, tangos, and who knows what else. Trumpeter Tomas Hallonsten is expressive on his horn in ways that have gone out of style, like braying, fluttering, and growling his notes. After the initial frenzy of the set opener "Mr. BP (D)", he introduces himself with a short solo packed with ideas before turning it over to Küchen, who plays a brief and pungent solo before the band takes it out. Bassist Benjamin Quigley is imperturbable, the real backbone of the sound, and the excellent percussionist Kjell Nordeson propels the music forward. This set must have been quite an experience t behold. The group sounds like they can barely contain themselves, and the excitement carries over to the home environment. Recommended.