Friday, May 20, 2016

Emil Brandqvist Trio - Falling Crystals (2016) SKIP RECORDS



PRESENT



Over the last few years drummer Emil Brandqvist from Gothenburg, Sweden, played his way into the intimate upper ranks of European Jazz; his trio stands for low-key, picturesque, touching melodies and sounds that remain with listeners.

Together with pianist Tuomas Turunen from Finland and Max Thornberg from Stockholm on double bass, one of the trademarks for this multinational Scandinavian ensemble has been that the trio eagerly brings in guests to the studio to put the finishing brushstrokes on their audiophonic paintings. Much like designing a portrait, their music builds to reveal more and more layers.

On “Breathe Out” (SKP 9115), their first album for SKIP in 2013, it was the Sjöströmska String Quartet from Gothenburg that set gem-like accents. For the following album entitled “Seascapes” (SKP 9128), Emil Brandqvist and his trio invited a number of woodwinds and horns to add greater density to the atmospheric settings: flutes, clarinets, bass clarinets and flugelhorns.

“Falling Crystals” (SKP 9135) enhances the listeners’ range via moods and compositional structures that underscore just how exceptional these three ‘northern lights’ are. The aura and music were sensitively captured by Åke Linton, a Swedish studio legend whose credentials already include work with Bobo Stenson, Lars Danielsson and the Esbjörn Svensson Trio.

“The Sea Begins To Freeze” reveals an opening theme reminiscent of film noir in which Emil Brandqvist has revived his collaboration with the Sjöströmstra String Quartet. On the composition by Tuomas Turunen named “A Day In Memories”, synthesizer inserts turn the tables to astonishing effect. On “Longing”, bass-player Max Thornberg lets his bowing display a North African coloring to match the desire in the track’s name. “Shine” is equally surprising: Despite all the Nordic roots, here the trio shows that it too was raised on the kind of Jazz made famous by great trios ‘way back when’ in the USA. The whole album sparkles with solid compositions, a lasting sound where the trio definitively ‘shows its stuff’. In 2016 concert-goers in our latitudes will be able to look forward to more concerts from the Emil Brandqvist Trio than ever before; delightful evenings that may very well close with the bouncy lilt heard on “Through The Forest”.





ABOUT US


EMIL BRANDQVIST Drums

Emil Brandqvist is a drummer,a composer and bandleader. He is living in Gothenburg/Sweden and is educated at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg. He is involved in many different projects both as drummer and composer. Inspiration to his composing often comes as a soundtrack to the nature of Sweden. And the titles of the compositions often comes only when the music is performed for the first time and the pictures are starting to move in the mind. The music is often fully arranged but there is a big open window for the trio musicians to make the music live to its full. Emil is also composing music for films and has worked with the score for many different film-projects. Emil is always seeking new ways to express his music and is very interested in exploring the possibilities in new collaborations for his composing and playing.



TUOMAS A. TURUNEN Piano

Tuomas A. Turunen is an award-winning Finnish jazz pianist, known as a solo artist and as a member of several Nordic jazz groups, especially Emil Brandqvist Trio, Skalle & Sharon and Kauhukakara. He is a frequent performer at the top jazz events in Finland as well as at other European festivals. Outside of Europe Tuomas has performed notably on the African continent, e.g. at Jazz à Dakar -festival and at the legendary Rainbow Jazz Club in South Africa. Tuomas lived in Sweden from 2004 until 2009 and studied jazz piano at the Music Academy of Gothenburg with Lars Jansson and Anders Jormin as his teachers. Since obtaining his Master of Music degree in 2009, he has been based in France, working as a freelance musician, composer, entrepreneur and educator. Tuomas was awarded the Jazz Scholarship of Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 2009. In 2010 he won the Jury’s Special Price at Montreux Jazz Festival’s piano competition.


MAX THORNBERG Bass

Max Thornberg was born in Halmstad, Sweden, in 1985. He is a freelance double bass player and composer, and has performed with some of Swedens finest jazz musicians.He plays regularly all over Sweden, but also in Denmark and Germany. Max Thornberg is educated in the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, and resides in Stockholm since 2007.

01. While We Are Here
02. Soaring
03. Crystals
04. Through the Forest
05. The Sea Begins to Freeze
06. Longing
07. A Day Inmemories
08. Across the Waters
09. Early Spring
10. Shine
11. Guds Gröna Ängar
12. The Oak Trees

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Klaus Doldinger's Passport - Doldinger (2016)


01. How It Started (0:44)
02. Abracadabra (6:33)
03. Jungle Song (feat. Dominic Miller) (6:20)
04. Happy Landing (6:53)
05. Green Lagoon (6:16)
06. Soul Town (feat. Nils Landgren) (5:05)
07. Inner City Blues (feat. Max Mutzke) (5:10)
08. Ovation (4:03)
09. Will-O'The-Wisp (5:30)
10. Jadoo (5:05)
11. New Moon (feat. Sasha) (4:29)
12. Auryn (feat. Dominic Miller) (5:03)
13. St. James Infirmary (feat. Helge Schneider) (3:21)
14. Der Greis Ist HeiB (feat. Udo Lindenberg) (4:44)

Feat. Helge Schneider, Udo Lindenberg, Sasha, Max Mutzke, Nils Landgren & Dominic Miller

Passport: Martin Scales, Michael Hornek, Patrick Scales, Ernst Ströer, Biboul Darouiche, Christian 
Lettner. Passport Classic: Curt Cress, Roberto Di Gioia, Wolfgang Schmid



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Henrik Pultz Melbye - Henrik Pultz Melbye Trio (2016)


Den danske saksofonisten Henrik Pultz Melbye er her ute med sin flunkende nye trio på LP (og download). Ved siden av Pultz Melbye består trioen av bassisten Casper Nyvang Rask og trommeslageren Anders Vestergaard. De tre spiller til daglig i en rekke forskjellige konstellasjoner, men sier selv at de som trio utgjør en sterk enhet som brobyggere mellom mainstream, jazzens tradisjoner og avantgardens eksperimenter.

Jeg vil vel hevde at den som kommer til å gå til innkjøp av denne LPen, med tanke på å få en mainstream-plate kanskje vil bli en smule skuffet, for dette er reinspikka avantgarde på den litt publikumsvennlige og ettertenksomme måte.

Dette er Pultz Melbyes debut som bandleder på plate, men tidligere har vi hørt han, blant annet i bandet SVIN. Han har også spilt med trompeteren Herb Robertson, perkusjonisten Adam Rudolph og bandet Frisk Frugt, mens medmusikantene er å finne i samarbeid med blant andre Yes Deer, Busk, Klimaforandringer og danskenes nye pianohelt, Jeppe Zeeberg.

Musikken går temmelig stille for seg, og åpningssporet «Dagliglivets oase», er en komposisjon som både er dyster og moderne, men innimellom svært vakker.

Andresporet, «Du over stepperne»åpner med et langt strekk med Pultz Melbye alene. Jeg vet ikke helt hvor godt jeg liker tonen han har i hornet, men det må jeg bare leve med. Den blir litt anonym, den mangler litt fylde og trøkk, men blir personlig nok. Etter hvert utvikler låta seg, og vi er et godt stykke inn i frijazz-verdenen, med fint bass- og trommespill av Nyvang Rask og Vestergaard.

Sistelåta på side A er en fin ballade, med tittelen «Bal». Her går alt stille og fredelig for seg, i en sangbar melodi, som utvikler seg til friere partier ettersom tiden går.

Side B starter med «Mitä», som kunne vært hentet fra New York på begynnelsen av 60-tallet. Men også her savnes ett eller annet. Kanskje er det lyden i saksofonen som nesten forlanger en slags motvekt, for eksempel i form av for eksempel plateprodusenten Kasper Tranberg og hans ekspressive trompetspill.


Og Kasper Tranberg, eller en annet krafttrompeter kunne ha gjort furore på de fleste sporene på denne plata. I balladen «Tungt» klarer Pultz Melbye og de to andre seg godt på egen hånd, i en klagende låt som fungerer, og som kanskje er platas fineste spor, mens «Halli Hallo», hvor man er tilbake til loftene i New York på 60-tallet nærmest roper etter en trompeter. Jeg tror det ville ha spritet opp innspillingen en hel del, men da hadde også blitt en helt annen plate.

Siste låt ut er «Marskandiser», en stillegående ballade som er sår og vakker, og jeg innser at det kanskje passer bra med denne musikken som trio. Det er noe med sårheten i saksofonen som gir plata en helt spesiell personlighet som jeg ikke kan noe for at jeg liker.

Pultz Melbye har mange gode ideer, og han får god plass og tid til å presentere dem på denne innspillingen. Han er en dyktig saksofonist, som sikkert vil skuffe noen med sin helt spesielle saksofonlyd, som andre bare vil elske. Det blir litt som med altsaksofonlyden til Jesper Zeuthen, som isolert sett kan virke frastøtende på en del lyttere, men som i den rette sammenhengen bare er den perfekte lyden.

Og både Casper Nyvang Rask og Anders Vestergaard er med på å gjøre denne innspillingen til en slags vinner, avhengig av hvilket humør du er i når du setter deg ned med platen.


01. Dagliglivets Oase 05:06
02. Ud over stepperne 09:55
03. Bal 05:34
04. Mitä 02:55
05. Tungt 04:35
06. Halli Hallo 07:19
07. Marskandiser 04:38

Released April 25, 2016 

Henrik Pultz Melbye: sax
Casper Nyvang Rask: bass
Anders Vestergaard: drums

Engineered by Bjørn Gjessing 
Mixed and mastered by Teis Frandsen 
Produced by Kasper Tranberg 
Cover art by Adi Zukanovic 
Recorded in Vanløse, November 2015

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Jesper Thörn - Big Bodies of Water (2016)


The music on "Big Bodies of Water" is electro/acoustic, minimalistic and impressionistic jazz where electronic noise, real sounds and percussive samples are mixed with trumpet, piano and double bass and merged into a three-dimensional universe with elements of Debussy-inspired soundscapes, free improvisation and crackling electronics.


01. Prae//Entré//B.O.L.O 06:38
02. The Steppe 06:06
03. Jump Into//Big Bodies of Water 06:21
04. HalfSpeed//FullSpeedAhead 06:45
05. Wobble 05:27
06. Suburbia 01:54
07. Raindeer 06:34
08. Fine 01:50

Jesper Thorn (DK): Double Bass, Cello 
Marc Méan (CH): Piano 
Tobias Wiklund (SE/DK): Flugelhorn 
Mads Emil Nielsen (DK): Electronics 

Enginered and recorded by: August Wanngren@TheVillage (SE/DK) 
Mastered by Kassian Troyer (DE)

All Compositions by Jesper Thorn except "Raindeer" by Marc Méan


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