ECM writes: “Arild Andersen brought his new quartet with saxophonist Marius Neset, pianist Helge Lien and drummer Håkon Mjåset Johansento Oslo’s Rainbow Studio. Norway’s pandemic travel restrictions having ruled out the participation of Manfred Eicher on this occasion, the musicians were on their own, ostensibly to document some of Arild’s pieces. On the second day of recording, Andersen proposed some collective improvising: “With nothing planned, we recorded a first part of about 23 minutes, and a second part of about 14 minutes”. These extended arcs of music became the new focus of the album. “Affirmation Part I” and “Affirmation Part II” are presented, unedited, in their entirety. The album is completed by Andersen’s composition “Short Story”.”
“Although the quartet had given quite a few concerts, and we’ve played together a lot, we’d never previously done a full set of just improvising. The idea of listening before you play is so present here, as is the way in which everybody comes up with ideas where interplay is the focus. I called the album Affirmation, where you have to trust yourself and trust the others just as much.”