Rasmus Sørensen could not have put out his latest album At The Right Time at a better time of year. The bright, tranquil, and vibrant sounds of Sørensen on grand piano, Jon Henriksson playing double bass, and Frencesco Ciniglio on drums, create an eccentric view on contemporary jazz and merge together to celebrate the end of the year.
Released through April Records in late November, At The Right Time is Rasmus Sørensen’s third album and displays his brilliance and growth in the contemporary jazz scene. His career blossomed in 2022 with his debut album Traits and further bloomed with the earlier 2024 release Balancing Act.
With that being said, At The Right Time is an explorative journey that takes the listener through lush valleys, harsh rocky plains, and soothing ocean waves. Although it is not direct, the overall vibe of this album is attributed to the Earth and the many different movements of the major four elements; Fire, Earth, Wind, and Water. This is also tied into the album artwork created by Enrico Andreis - which depicts a version of those four major elements (including a child-like Sun, which we’ll discuss a little later). In addition to this; most of the songs on the album directly refer to these elements, “The Sun,” “Earthlings,” “Blasting,” and “Ocean Waves,” to name a few.
The first three songs, “The Sun,” “Embrace the Circumstance,” and “Retreat” all follow the same fiery energy and embrace the hot vibes. The piano work between “The Sun” and “Embrace the Circumstance” holds the listener in a warming and tantalizing squeeze and doesn’t let go until “Retreat.” To me, “Retreat” acts as a guide that leads the listener from fire, back into the Earth; which is where the listener travels to next.
“Stilts,” “Perennial Youth,” and “Earthlings” portrays life on a fundamental level and where it all began. The piano work and melody on “Stilts” felt disjointed and slightly messy, as if life were starting to stand on its own two legs for the first time. This then moves into “Perennial Youth” where the listener hears sounds reminiscent of humanity growing and maturing. This also falls back to why an infant’s face is on the Sun in the artwork. Humanity thrives from fire (the Sun) and always has since the beginning of time (hence the infantile depiction). By the time the listener moves into “Earthlings,” they have come to understand the synchronicity of life and are metaphorically “blasted” away in the upcoming tracks.
The wind themes behind “Blasting,” “Enchantment,” and “49” are light enough to lull the listener to sleep, but harsh enough for the listener to understand the dichotomy of wind and storms. From the start of “Blasting,” the listener is whisked away and thrown into the wind of ravishing piano, bass, and percussion. Whereby in “Enchantment” and “49” the storm has begun to subside and the listener is gently guided into free-floating tides and water.
Finally the listener sees the album coming to a close with the songs “Shoes Off”, “Ocean Waves,” and “At the Right Time.” In each tranquil song the listener is encouraged to metaphorically take their shoes off, walk into the ocean, and simply breathe. “At the Right Time” is Sørensen’s ultimate message to the listener that everything will happen when it happens, it only takes time and patience.
Overall this album is a welcome addition into Rasmus Sørensen’s discography and I implore you to listen to the rest of his music on all major streaming services.
