Mats Gustafsson & Goran Kajfes’ Cosmic Ear

The new Swedish ensemble Cosmic Ear is open to all kinds of influences, including hunters music from Mali, gnawa from Morocco, Swedish folk and Brazilian percussion, with the double bass providing solid grooves. The group continues the ideas of American free jazz legend Don Cherry, who moved to Sweden in 1970 where he started blending spiritual traditions with jazz. An important contributor to Cosmic Ear is multi-instrumentalist Christer Bothén, who played with Cherry.

The founders of Cosmic Ear, saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and trumpeter Goran Kajfes, have played together in various large ensembles including Fire! Orchestra. In their new band they both play various instruments combined with electronics. Original material by Kajfes, Gustafsson and Bothén is mixed with compositional works by Don Cherry, his trio Codona and Frank Lowe. Bothén alternates various clarinets with donso ngoni, the large hunter’s harp from Mali, which he had introduced Cherry to back in the day.

Goran Kajfes trumpet/pocket trumpet/synth/electronics/percussion, Mats Gustafsson tenor sax/flute/slide flute/Ab clarinet/live electronics/organ/harmonica, Christer Bothén bass clarinet/contra bass clarinet/do so ngoni/piano, Kansan Zetterberg bass/donso ngoni, Juan Romero congas/berimbau/percussion