During a break early in his Friday duo set at Monkey Town with saxist Håkon Kornstad, bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, left, explained that the pair’s repertoire was drawn from Christian hymns his grandmother Elise used to sing. The Williamsburg venue’s state-of-the-art back room, which combines a four-wall video projection system with fine-dining service and communal couches, didn’t initially seem like the most appropriate setting for a concert of religious music. But the musicians—dressed much like the effortlessly chic hipsters sprawled around the room—had no trouble adapting, and they held the audience rapt during a tight 40-minute set.
The short pieces, drawn from the Norwegian musicians’ strong recent duo CD on Compunctio, Elise (streaming in its entirety here), hinged on an alchemical combination of technical wizardry and poignant soul. Kornstad demonstrated a remarkable command of his horn’s overtone register, inducing a warm, burry buzz in the instrument that often sounded more like it issued from an organ than a sax. He switched from fluttery patterns to deep, romantic bellows, swooping gracefully over his partner’s sturdy vamps and abstract ruminations. The bassist also utilized nontraditional strategies, such as percussive string slaps, though like the work of Kornstad, his playing never strayed far from the pieces’ stirring, gospelish melodies. The duo’s concise improvisations achieved an impressive emotional range and depth: Whether muscular and funky, hectic and harsh, or yearning and reflective, the playing felt profound.
Kornstad related at one point that he and his partner had initially honed this music in an old Swedish church. It would have been a thrill to hear Friday’s set in that environment, but there was something remarkable about watching the duo ply its trade in this ultramodern setting. Even with animated sunbursts exploding on the walls throughout the set, the players made Monkey Town feel like its own kind of sacred space.
