Magnus Östrom - Parachute (2016) Hi-Res

Magnus Öström, the late Esbjörn Svensson’s drummer and childhood friend, named this album for music’s power to pull up his plummeting spirit after the Swedish pianist’s death in 2008. Like its predecessors, Parachute celebrates prog rock and the classic Pat Metheny Group, retains the same strong lineup including guitarist Andreas Hourdakis and pianist Daniel Karlsson and has something of a generic air. Öström’s themes often curl lyrical guitar leads over strutting piano ostinati and pepper them with modulations, but the leader’s contentment with being the glue in a creative collective gives the album character and warmth. His tom-tom fills constantly push the Methenyesque melody of Dog on the Beach; Walkabout Bug has a childlike charm despite its metronomic pulse and the fast-ticking title track swells to an EST-like rapture via good solos from Hourdakis and Karlsson. Trumpeter Mathias Eick’s guest spot on The Shore of Unsure clothes the inexorable dance floor groove in a sensuous gleam.