Kvarpa is Swedish for clarinet; at least it is according to Roland Keijser, folk melody historian, saxophonist and inspiration to Swedish composer and improviser Isak Hedtjärn. It is highly fitting then that Hedtjärn has decided to christen his new clarinet-centred solo debut - an improvisational journey recorded over just one day at his favourite practice spot, Kvarpan. As a disciple of free jazz, Hedtjärn has called on his self-taught grounding in the art of improvisation to provide the basis for what is an enthralling musical experiment. But to call it a ‘solo’ record may appear somewhat misleading. True, it is just Hedtjärn who appears on Kvarpan, but have a listen and it’s clear that there is more than one musician at play here. In fact, Kvarpan is constructed around a quartet – just one that features Hedtjärn playing all four parts.

Clarinet became Hedtjärn’s instrument of choice after spending his school years studying drums and jazz, and in turn discovering avant-gardism and improvisation. As with many non-classically trained professionals, he was set up perfectly for this particular form of musical rule-breaking seeking new paths of exploration that would take him outside the world of form and structure. Inspired by not only Keijser, but also jazz record store owner Harald Hult and drummer Raymond Strid, Hedtjärn’s musical story reflects a broad musical taste that encompasses folk, pop and dance music, working with everyone from the Fire! Orchestra (saxophonist Mats Gustafson provides liner notes), punkists the Viagra Boys through to ambient specialist Kali Malone and Swedish rapper Marcus Price. He’s currently ensconced with postmodern free-jazzists Grismask, and violin traditionalists Svenska Folkjazzkvartetten, but for Kvarpan Hedtjärn is alone with just his clarinet for company.

“The pieces are based on sound worlds and ways of playing that I have been exploring for a long time, but which take on new forms each time,” says Hedtjärn in the liner notes. “I record each part without hearing the others and the concepts are simple and not always followed. Nothing is edited.” And indeed Kvarpan is an album of revelations as we discover ambient sitting alongside animated avant-gardism alongside delicate jazz.

Opening with the discordant but nevertheless transcendent ‘Toner’, this subtle aesthetic is immediately picked up by ‘Kvarplek’ with its artful mix of trills and pauses, run through with what can only be described as an Amazonian soul. ‘Plop 1’ is a percussive ensemble, while ‘Kvarpan I’ is the first signal of what can really be called jazz. Slow building, this is Hedtjärn fully solo with none of his aliases. It borders on the free with hints of eastern inflection, never letting loose completely, while emulating the sound of the classic clarinettists of the 30s and 40s. ‘Starka Toner’ plies a multilayered parade of weeps and wails – woodwind brothers in extremis, before we enter a phase of more experimental playing, the clarinet squealing and shifting tempo as it pushes the boundaries of sound before coming back to ‘Toner II’ and its slow-probing jazz. Rounding off with the mesmerizing ‘Kvarpan II’ – old time, misty-eyed and innovative,  Hedtjärn’s experiment  passes with flying colours.