Anne Mette Iversen
Best of the West (featuring 4 Corners)
www.annemetteiversen.com
Denmark’s Anne Mette Iversen is a wonderful player.  The real star here are her compositions and the sound of the band as a whole, tho.  From the very first track, this band is swinging HARD and the interplay is top notch (not surprising considering her all-star cast of musicians…  John Ellis and Otis Brown sound just wonderful here). But, again, AMI is a beautiful player.  Her intonation is spot on, her tone is big, round and full of character.  Her note choices are just adventurous to be interesting but is never out in front for the sake of it.  She’s interacting with the music playfully, but forcefully.This is also a double CD.  Disc one is her quartet.  Disc two is her quartet with a string quartet.  This is really when it gets interesting!  I love the writing on this disc.  At once slightly avante-classical (very European sound, I’d say…  but hey.  I’m from New Jersey, what do I know?!) and beautifully morphing into some very evocative straight ahead playing.  Although my knowledge here is limited, I was reminded of Mark-Anthony Turnage in the way she has masterfully joined the classical and jazz performances.

Very worth checking out.  This is a wonderful jazz bassist with some stellar compositions and a strong vision for her music.  Great stuff!