Mads la Cour

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Mads la Cour’s Almugi   Leader/Co-Leader

Almugi is an ancient Scandinavian word that means ‚free men of the Kingdom who possess the ability of goodness‘ and also the name for the new quartet of danish brass player and composer Mads la Cour.

Kasper Tom Christiansen (drum), Andreas Lang (double bass) and Lars Greve (clarinet) are joining Mads la Cour (cornet) in this quartet to play la Cour’s music with the intention of creating an honest, interactive and beautiful sound world.

Mads la Cour’s Almugi comes with a highly personal sound that explores a modern context of the Nordic region. The music is a reflection of la Cour’s unique compositional voice that features his highly personal playing style. This is organically developed contemporary jazz, with a wide variety of inspirations, from folk to avant-garde that nurtures a freely tonal language within collective improvisations.

Click on link to if you wish to download info regarding Mads la Cour’s Almugi.
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https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rj1ny681n10guw1/AADtnrlVqJF8CcR5L4K7w0-ma?dl=0

Releases

Hule
Mads la Cour’s Almugi

2018 WhyPlayJazz

Mads la Cour (cornet, flugelhorn), Lars Greve (clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone), Kasper Tom Christiansen (drums), Mariusz Praśniewski (double bass)

Fascinating melodies are spiritually bound together as Almugi skirts the well-traveled highways on its way to forging new paths. An emotive music from the European North amazes with its sophisticated originality, as it creates an earthy, natural musical atmosphere.

Quartet
Mads la Cour’s Almugi

2015 WhyPlayJazz

Mads la Cour (cor), Lars Greve (bcl, cl), Andreas Lang (b), Kasper Tom Christiansen (dr)

Duo
Mads la Cour’s Almugi

2015 WhyPlayJazz

Mads la Cour (cor, flh), Anders Mogensen (dr)

Large Ensemble
Mads la Cour’s Almugi

2015 WhyPlayJazz

Mads la Cour (cor, tr, flh, ahrn, moog), Peter Fuglsang (bcl, cl), Steen Hansen (tb), Peter Hellesø (ts) ,Kaspar Vadsholt (b), Erik Svendsen Laustsen (dr), Hal Parfitt Murray (vl), Andreas Tophøj (vl, va)

Reviews

This is the debut album by the Almugi quartet, led by Danish cornetist / composer Mads la Cour, which also includes clarinetist Lars Greve, bassist Andreas Lang and drummer Kasper Tom Christiansen. The album presents nine original compositions, all by la Cour.

Christiansen, Lang and la Cour were members of the Quartz quartet, which recorded a debut album almost a decade earlier and which was also released at the time on the excellent German WhyPlayJazz label.

The music is a an open form of modern Jazz, which ignores genres and conventions and freely floats between melodic passages and free improvisations, presenting the complete palette used by today´s new generation of European Jazz players, who are constantly trying to expand the Jazz idiom.

These musicians are all very experienced players, having participated in numerous recordings as leaders and sidemen and played countless gigs, so there is nothing surprising about their proficiency and brilliance. Their functionality as a group is also beyond reproach, both when playing straightforward and improvising.

The cornet solos are excellently structured and for some strange reason bring an association of the work by Don Cherry in the early Ornette Coleman´s quartets. Of course la Cour has his own individual language and this is just a nostalgic whim on my part. He also weaves excellent melodies, which serve as vehicles for the quartet to improvise and express the individual statements.

Greve is very expressive and skillfully uses the clarinet and bass clarinet to create atmospheric layers and solos, expanding the sonic scope of the music. The rhythm section is, as usual, exceptional. Lang and Christiansen are already well known for their skills and adaptability to every imaginable musical setting, and they don´t disappoint here as well.

Overall this is another superb album coming out of Denmark, where Jazz is enjoying an impressive Renaissance in the last decade, which makes all connoisseurs of Scandinavian Jazz extremely happy. Very well done indeed and I am looking forward to hear more from this group in the future. Two more albums: a duo and a large ensemble recording by la Cour are also available.

Review of Almugi “Quartet” // by Adam Baruch (June 2016)

Mads la Cour’s Almugi: Quartet (WhyPlayJazz) >> Mads la Cour’s Almugi: Duo (WhyPlayJazz)

Ved at vende tilbage opstår der noget nyt. DR Big Band trompetisten Mads la Cour er atter sammen med trommeslageren Kasper Tom og bassisten Andreas Lang - som han spillede sammen med i bandet Quartz, helt tilbage i 2006. La Cour udgav herefter et par kritikerroste albums, hvor han var sammen med andre musikere. Med det nye udspil får han åbnet op for et nyt kapitel i karrieren. Der er et intenst nervepirrende og superkoncentreret sammenspil mellem musikerne.

Mads la Cours musik er som en thailandsk madret. Her er balancen mellem det søde, sure, salte og stærke omdrejningspunktet for et vellyket måltid. Mads la Cour er alsidig på trompeten. Han efterlader nogle stærke indtryk i ørerne. Tilføjelsen af Lars Greves saxofon og klarinet i la Cours musikalske univers er genialt. De er åndsbelægtede og giver hinanden nogle gode musikalske indspark. Mads la Cour er fri og ubundet i sit trompetspil.

Noget der også høres på duopladen, der er udkommet samtidigt. Her er la Cour sammen med trommeslageren Anders Mogensen, der ud over at være underviser på konservatoriet i Odense - hvor la Cour har gået for adskillige år siden - også var en af de første der brugte la Cour i professionel sammenhæng. Det er en noget mere eksperimenterende udgivelse end kvartetpladen. De kender hinanden godt og får skabt mange spændende situationer i det nærværende duosammenspil.

JazzNyt review of "Quartet" & "Duo" by Niels Overgård (in danish) (August 2015)

Mads La Cour’s Almuji- Quartet
(WhyPlayJazz RS019. CD review by Mike Collins)

Almugi, says Mads La Cour’s publicity, is an ancient Scandinavian word referring to ‘Free men of the Kingdom, noted for their goodness’. The Danish trumpeter and composer has released a flurry of recordings on the German based WhyPlayJazz label with a varying cast of free men. There’s a duo, a Big Band as download only and, on this CD, a Quartet playing his compositions with a freewheeling, now tight now loose approach.

In addition to Mads himself, the quartet comprises a strong group of Danish players with well established reputations. Lars Greve is on clarinets, Andreas Lang on bass and Kapser Tom Christiansen on drums. The line-up with no chordal instrument, group improvisations with open sections over pulsing riffs, interval leaping themes with horns locked in tandem all give the music more than a nod in the direction of jazz that steers a line between tightly choreographed themes and less structured improvisations. There are references in plenty of other directions with folky melodies bursting through, tight grooves emerging and occasional more moody introspection.

Long John has a loosely delivered twisting theme which is unravelled collectively, Christansen keeping the momentum up with tumbling clatter and squeals from the cymbals. Spam gives La Cour space to work out over a pulsing, rolling bass and drums before a choppy staccato line, locking trumpet and clarinet together, separates bass and then clarinet episodes. Allmogen and Emilie in their different ways bring out a more melancholic side of the leader and a sweeter sound over chant like themes, Greve produces an anguished keening solo on I Jules . Araber and Sir Dance – a – lot develop into more grooving workouts.

This is engaging music, each piece with a distinct sense of development, but what really holds the attention is the group sound and interplay. Trumpet and clarinet support and twist around each other constantly without ever sounding contrived, The drums and bass maintain an unflagging energy even when playing fractured and broken rhythms. This is a very fine set from top class players and it makes me want to check our what Mads has been up to with his other ‘ Free Men of the Kingdom’

Mike Collins is a pianist and writer based in Bath, who runs the jazzyblogman site. Twitter @jazzyblogman

Review London Jazz News Mike Collins (July 2015)

Mads la Cour's Almugi: Quartet Almugi is an ancient Scandinavian word that describes free men of the Kingdom who are gifted with exceptional goodness. It is also the name of an ongoing musical project of Danish cornet and trumpet player Mads la Cour, member of the Danish Radio Big Band. The first recording of this project featured la Cour in a duet with drummer Anders Mogensen and the second with a large ensemble. The Quartet is comprised with Danish musicians—clarinetist Lars Greve, double bassist Andreas Lang and drummer Kasper Tom Christiansen.

Mads la Cour has crafted a highly personal musical world that encompasses the serene, reserved Nordic jazz but corresponds with other musical worlds such as close and far folk traditions and contemporary music. The quartet plays as a band that has been playing together for years, creating an intimate, free tonal language within concise segments of collective improvisations. The close, melodic rich interplay of la Cour and Greve is naturally the heart of all pieces, all composed by la Cour. Their searching, warm sound, full with fresh, flowing ideas create an aural tapestry. Both enjoy the economic, driving pulse of Lang and Christiansen.

The gifted quartet expand la Cour's musical vision. The quartet outline beautiful, heartfelt melodies, always in a quiet, reserved manner, as on the sublime "Allmogen," the fragile, chamber "I Jules" or the contemplative "Emilie"; move to a playful, fuky mode on "Sir Dance a Lot" or suggest a gentle dance on "Araber." "Polka" present an experimental, searching side of the quartet at its introduction before the quartet unite for reciting the strong theme.

These four exceptional musicians are gifted with a rare musical gift. Inspiring, beautiful music.

All About Jazz review of Mads la Cour's Almugi "Quartet" by Eyal Hareuveni (June 2015)