Quit Smoking Monday

FEET MUSIC

''Keith Jarrett (on his anti electric crusade) once remarked that electricity flows through all of us and shouldnt be relegated to wires. If thats true, this Norwegian quintet could probably generate enough to power most of Oslo for a week or two with a single gig. While many of their fellow artists on Jazzland power up their samplers, Atomic stay unplugged; digital here means using your fingers.Its hard to pin down Atomic's influences, which is no bad thing; while hints of bop, free jazz and ECM-esque balladry surface throughout, there are few direct influences discernible, though trumpeter Magnus Broo pulls off a pretty good Don Cherry on the opening "Nära Grensen". What's certain is that there's a subtler brand of innovation than that normally found on Jazzland; there's no nu-jazz fusioneering going on here.The energy the quintet muster throughout is remarkable, but its energy devoted to listening as much as playing, which explains the absence of free jazz blowout or 900 mph solos. The unfussy live recording is a wee bit rough round the edges; no ECM reverb, just the sound of five musicians doing their thing. Quite brilliant.