Bassist Anne Mette Iverson leads two different bands with similar moods on these releases.
The “Quartet +1” is made up of Iversen with John Ellis/ts, Peter Dahlgren/tb, Danny Grissett/p and Otis Brown III/dr. Material features Ellis’ fluffy tenor on the melodic “Wiinstedt’s View” and “The Ballad That Would Not Be” and Dahlgren’s earthy trombone gets the focus on “December Light.” Some of the arrangements are clever, as the horns create a fugue for Grissett’s classical form on “Lines & Circles” and the tricky bopper of the title track. Ice cube cool and sharp.
For the Ternion Quartet, Iverson brings together Silke Eberhard/as, Geoffroy De Masure/tb and Roland Schneider/dr that deliver light and lithely intricate bop lines akin to the Tristano-era of Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh. Eberhard is particularly feathery on the nimble “Trio One” and cirrus clouded “Solus” while Masure plunges down on the funky “Debacled Debate.” Cool moods prevail on “Ataraxia On My Mine” while Schneider’s cymbals niftly coax on the quickie “Their Revised Head.” Soft and cerebral.