Temporal Analogues of Paradise

by Rick AndersonHere's another stunningly beautiful Jonas Hellborg album with another misleadingly dorky title (cf. Octave of the Holy Innocents, Ars Moriende, etc.). The dorkiness of the title is misleading because it's simply not reflected in the music, which, while decidedly virtuosic and occasionally even esoteric, is for the most part admirably grounded and accessible. With guitar hero Shawn Lane and drummer Apt. Q-258 (aka Jeff Sipe), Hellborg spins out two half-hour long improvisations (or, as they're called here, "movements"); the first is the more rockish, and also the less interesting of the two. Opening with a ringing tonic-dominant figure from Hellborg and a pummeling beat from Sipe, the piece quickly takes off into guitar-god territory as Lane lets loose -- his playing is genuinely inspiring, as pretty as it is jaw-droppingly virtuosic -- but on this track the trio doesn't ever hook into anything really transcendent. On the more lyrical and restrained "Second Movement," though, there is magic at work. Lane starts out in a South Asian modality and then gradually glides into a series of variations on achingly sweet diatonic themes while Hellborg supports him with solid but intricate bass figures underneath. Hellborg's solos are brilliant as well. The album is a solid success overall.