Koma Saxo is a new group led by bassist Petter Eldh and featuring Mikko Innanen on alto and baritone saxophones, Jonas Kullhammar and Otis Sandsjö on tenor saxophones, and Christian Lillinger on drums. Their self-titled debut album will be out in October on the Finnish label We Jazz, but they have announced themselves with a non-LP single, “Port Koma” b/w “Fanfarum for Komarum”.

The music was recorded in December 2018, partly live at the annual We Jazz Festival and partly at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki. Eldh took it back to Berlin, where he lives, and tweaked it in Galatea Studios there. “Port Koma” has a bouncing beat over which the horns come wavering in and out, almost with a Doppler effect. The post-production is obvious but subtle, not unlike some of the out jazz-meets-electronic experiments the Thirsty Ear label conducted as part of its Blue Series in the early 2000s.

The B-side, “Fanfarum for Komarum”, is more of a free jazz blowout but with a hard-partying atmosphere; imagine the Peter Brötzmann Octet of Machine Gun fame being hired to play a wedding. There’s even an island feel to the tune, like the Art Ensemble of Chicago playing around with Caribbean parade music.

Pre-order Koma Saxo on Bandcamp

Buy “Port Koma” / “Fanfarum for Komarum” on Bandcamp