Jacob Karlzon & Rhani Krija - Mosaic

Jacob Karlzon & Rhani Krija - MOSAIC

The music of Jacob Karlzon and Rhani Krija is as varied in color and shape, as geometrically stimulating and exemplarily figurative as a mosaic. The two musicians, who each had different musical socializations, are “Mosaic”: a piano and percussion duo that takes the power of intuition to new heights on their debut album. The first encounter between Swedish pianist Jacob Karlzon and Moroccan percussionist Rhani Krija took place on the road in Dominic Miller's band. Krija marveled at Karlzon's musicality and openness to spontaneously create melodic and rhythmic gems of the most vital expressiveness. The pianist, on the other hand, was immediately struck by the percussionist's ability and urge to compose live on stage and enter into musical dialog. Both felt instantly at home in each other's rich musical language.

Later on the two virtuosos were not in the studio, but on stage first. Knowing full well how much the vitality of their joint music depends on the momentum vector, they didn't hesitate for long. Classic jamming was less in the foreground. Rather, the urge to compose in an experimental way was well received in the live situation. Krija openly admits that he is not a very patient person. Accordingly, immediately after the concert, they went into a recording studio with the manageable structures of ten spontaneously conceived pieces.
Nothing was to stand in the way of direct dialog. Both the emotional depth and the almost palpable spatiality on which the “Mosaic” album is based underline how inspired and spontaneous the recording conditions were.

The Mosaic duo's compositions mature out of the moment like puzzles. Fragments that are created in real time are brought into larger harmonic and groove contexts. This results in creative friction and tension, which find their resolution in the extremely finely tuned weaving of stories. Karlzon and Krija's storytelling is also unique because of the continuous role reversal. The man with North African origins occasionally lets his many percussion instruments sing melodically, while the Scandinavian on the 88 keys of his grand piano sets the pulse pattern throughout. Both instrumentalists mutually develop their respective core disciplines in a multi-layered and colorful way. The piece “Mosaic” is exemplary of this form of interaction. Myriads of harmonic and metric subgroups intertwine in it, to which Krija and Karlzon open up new dimensions of communication.

The Swede enthuses that his partner's North African-influenced diversity of ideas liberated him to a certain extent from Western-influenced musical thought patterns. Krija, on the other hand, sees Karlzon's understanding of chords and melodies as confirmation of his fascination with Bach. The musical-historical-geographical coordinates between south and north are tangible in contemplative numbers such as “A Walk In Ambivalencia”. However, the two musicians condense them on the “Mosaic” album in such a way that something new emerges, a continent of its own.

In the piece “Blank Page”, the melody notes are constantly grouped rhythmically in different ways. However, any similarity to Frank Zappa's “The Black Page” is neither intentional nor structural. “Further Down That Road” emphasizes the two musicians' shared respect for the expressive possibilities offered by jazz and its sub-genres with a dialogue of minor notes. In the context of the song, Jacob speaks with a raised eyebrow about how both the piano and percussion instruments can be “weapons of mass destruction”. The shared awareness of being able to gain the privilege of free communication from the appreciation of music allows the duo to merge into an open system. Triplets, 16th notes and occasionally scattered odd meters may initially create a seemingly disparate sound mosaic. However, the structures of the ten pieces are veritable vehicles for constantly finding expressive unity. Does this give “Mosaic” a political meaning?

Karlzon and Krija wave it off. Anyone who recognizes such a motive in their ongoing mutual preservation of dignity is not fundamentally wrong. However, Krija, who has toured every continent with Peter Gabriel, Sting and Herbie Hancock, and Karlzon, who has played with countless jazz greats, see something healing in their music. Dialogue contributes to spiritual, emotional connection, they say. Their shared “Mosaic” track exemplifies this idea.