Cosmic Ear
Goran Kajfeš and Mats Gustafsson tune their cosmic ear inward, outward and forward – toward spiritual, improvised music with a new supergroup
For years, Goran Kajfeš and Mats Gustafsson dreamed of forming a small ensemble for spiritual, rhythmic and free improvisation. That vision is now reality: Cosmic Ear – a new supergroup with their mentor Christer Bothén, bassist Kansan Zetterberg and percussionist Juan Romero – blending composition, chaos, tradition and electronics in one searching sound.
The repertoire combines original works with pieces by Don Cherry, Codona and Frank Lowe, drawing on Malian hunter music, Gnawa traditions, Swedish folk, and free jazz. The instrumentation is vast and physical – donso ngoni, pocket trumpet, ab-clarinet, live electronics and double bass form its core.
At their spring concert at Fasching – just as the dark months began to lift – Dan backman (SvD) described the music as “searching and spiritually charged.” The expected cosmic groove never quite arrived, replaced instead by something more of the moment: a sound reflecting the world as it feels right now.
Lineup:
Goran Kajfeš – trumpet, pockettrumpet, synth, elektronik, slagverk
Mats Gustafsson – tenorsaxofon, flöjt, dragflöjt, ab-klarinett, live-elektronik, orgel, munspel
Christer Bothén – donso ngoni, basklarinett, kontrabasklarinett, piano
Kansan Zetterberg – bas, donso ngoni
Juan Romero – congas, berimbau, slagverk