The project Exploring Musical Space in the Absence of a Bass Player was my graduation project in the spring of 2018. The main goal of this project was to see in what ways the absence of a bass player affects the band members playing and musical communication, and if removing an instrument would allow the bandmembers to move away from the traditional roles we are used to in a jazz ensemble and enable them to explore the music in a new light. The band consisted of myself on piano, Karl-Henrik Ousbäck on drums and Sölvi Kolbeinsson on saxophone. The concert took place on March 20th in Nathan Milsteinsalen at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and together we played my compositions. Half of the compositions was specifically written for this occasion while the other half was material that already existed.

There are some challenges that come with removing an instrument from the band. When removing an instrument that usually has the role of providing both rhythmic and harmonic stability, all of the band members have to take more responsibility for both rhythm and time as well as the direction of the music. Sometimes the piano would” take on the role” of the bass player by playing bass notes in the lower register of the piano, sometimes the saxophone would do the same. The goal of the project was that all instruments could be both melodic, rhythmic and harmonic instruments and could go in and out of the bassplayer role as fitted the music best, or no one would take on that role. Removing a bass from the band did make it easier to play rubato in a way that is more associated with classical music from the romantic era, and it did bring out the melodies that each instrument created.