Terje Rypdal - Crime Scene (2010)

Although at first glance the playlist might suggest that you're in for the kind of noir-inspired, spiky edginess of John Zorn's Spillane, Norwegian guitarist Terje Rypdal's Crime Scene comes across as pleasantly eccentric and is richly enhanced with all the qualities that make his best work so well worth hearing over and over again. Crime Scene was realized in collaboration with the 20-piece Bergen Big Band, which includes pleasantly disorienting electric instrumentation, a Hammond B-3 organ, and a veritable platoon of brass and reed players, some of whom prove to be bodacious free blowing improvisers. As is the case with much of this man's recorded work, open-minded listeners are sure to encounter a breathtaking range of textured musical expression. Rypdal is characteristically brilliant, sometimes launching into psychotropic guitar passages that may have you recklessly upping the volume for maximum enjoyment. All but one of the 14 selections are credited to Rypdal, the exception being "Parli con Me?!" which has some gnarly sampling by drummer (and composer) Paolo Vinaccia.