Telling It Like It Is - Lyder Røed
Tradition is often treated as something musicians must either preserve or escape. On "Telling It Like It Is", Lyder Røed Quintet chooses a third course: inhabiting it fully, without apology, disguise or historical distance.
The album continues the direction established on 2024’s Upside Down, drawing openly from the Blue Note sound, hard bop, post-bop, Latin jazz and the melodic directness of players such as Lee Morgan, Nat Adderley and Roy Hargrove. Yet the quintet does not approach this music as period reconstruction. For these musicians, jazz history is not sealed behind glass. It exists alongside the present, immediately accessible through records, streaming services, playlists and the accumulated listening of a generation for whom musical eras no longer arrive in strict chronological order.
That sense of proximity runs throughout "Telling It Like It Is". Its compositions are built around memorable melodies, deep swing, rhythmic clarity and plenty of space for the musicians to respond to one another. The written themes remain central, giving each piece a distinct shape while allowing the solos to move freely within it. Trumpet, saxophone and piano follow the implications of the melodies rather than abandoning them, while bass and drums continually adjust the weight, momentum and direction of the conversation.
The album moves between hard-driving swing, relaxed late-night reflection and Latin-inflected grooves, but retains a clear identity throughout. At times, it summons the familiar mythology of mid-century jazz: basement clubs, backroom card games, nocturnal streets and conversations continuing long after they should have ended. These images, however, now arrive through headphones, glowing screens and phones raised above contemporary stages. The quintet is not attempting to recreate a vanished world, but drawing upon what remains alive within it: swing, melody, collective attention and the charged space between a statement and its reply.
“Out N’ About”, inspired by Lee Morgan’s “Cornbread”, provides a concise example of the group’s approach. A simple, memorable theme, a Latin-tinged groove and a deep swing feel create room for all five musicians to place their own stamp on the material without disturbing its directness.
In a musical culture frequently shaped by rapid circulation, genre labelling and the demand for constant reinvention, "Telling It Like It Is" finds its confidence elsewhere. The quintet knows what it loves and sees no need to camouflage it. The result is warm, melodic and rhythmically alive: music rooted in a recognisable tradition, spoken with the voices of the musicians playing it now.
Lyder Øvreås Røed – trumpet
Aksel Øvreås Røed – tenor saxophone
Philip Granly – piano
Andreas Svabø – double bass
Elias Tafjord – drums