Available Formats:
CD Digital Stream
Description
“What Just Happened?” is an album collecting four pieces by Paal Nilssen-Love, composed for smaller constellations of his Large Unit ensemble. The pieces are for specific instruments: according, snare drum, saxophone, and tuba – from three to six performers. This act of stripping down the ensemble to single instruments does not mean sparse minimalism, rather the opposite, as Paal explores the possibilities – and limits – of the singular instruments. Adding to the quality of the music is the incredible level of musicianship of the performers, and their willingness to go into new areas.
The album was recorded in the church of Tøyen, in Oslo, June 2025, by Large Unit regular sound engineer Christian Brynildsen Obermayer, and produced by Paal himself. In the growing catalogue of Large Unit recordings “What Just Happened?” is perhaps most closely related to 2018’s “More Fun Please” album, with the extended Extra Large Unit, which also showcased Paal’s abilities not just as a musician and bandleader, but also his interest in contemporary composition and the exploration of new sounds. Or as Joe McPhee would say it: “fuck free jazz”
Asked what the title means, Paal states that was his desired response when he set up the three-day festival of Large Unit projects in Oslo in 2022 – that both the audience and the performers would walk out afterwards and wonder “what just happened?” – and most of all himself.
Label: PNL Records
Released in:
2026
Shipping from: Chicago
