The Samuel Jackson Five – A Passage To Elsewhere

The Samuel Jackson Five – A Passage To Elsewhere
Karisma Records – 2026
Rock, Prog, Kraut, Jazz
Rated: ****

Thanks to my obsession with Madrugada and My Midnight Creeps, I found out about The Samuel Jackson Five somewhere around 2005 when saxophone wizard Dag Stiberg played on their Easily Misunderstood album. Ever since that time, the Norwegian crazies from The Samuel Jackson Five have released another three albums, featuring Stiberg, before arriving at their newest A Passage To Elsewhere, with once again that glorious saxophone sound…

Of course the new A Passage To Elsewhere album, comes almost a decade after their last one, if we don’t count the Early Demos, Rarities and Non-Becomings release called A History Lesson from last year. It celebrates even more the musical curiosity and adventurous arrangements that have always been a major part of their sound. Their artistic endeavor to combine seemingly unrelated influences into something incredibly coherent. 

On some level one can just call this experimental music, but its their move and slide, there shift and glide between genres like prog, post, kraut and jazz that make the experiment wholesome, melodic and endearing. Yes, so warm to the touch, so colorful and soulful, that every unexpected turn and subtle change will keep you entirely engaged. All delivered by a rich musical palette that incorporates strings, brass, keys, guitars and a rhythm section that seems set on a fiery flow or a drowsy drive. 

You can lose yourself completely in their exploration of all the different textures, rhythms and moods. But the entrancing feelings comes more from the way they let all of it develop so organically and rich. And there are rises, crests and downward sections, but no big crescendos or explosive climaxes. The pay-off for The Samuel Jackson Five comes in the form of all the atmospheric beauty they create. And those paintings, vistas and moods are always imaginative. 

A different kind of progressiveness resides within these sounds, soulful, jazzy and rewarding at every turn. You feel the smile, the hear the joy, and it carries with you long after the final notes have faded. A wonderful album from a band that has no boundaries when traversing the creative landscape… 

(Written by JK)

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