Emborg’s acoustic quartet with harmonica phenomenon Mathias Heise, drummer Karsten Bagge and bassist Peter Hansen has recorded nine new Emborg compositions, which are on a par with any of his best pieces.
Back in 1991 critic Boris Rabinowitch wrote of composer and pianist Jørgen Emborg, “No one in Denmark writes tunes like Emborg’s. They have personality, they are original, and they are often based on unorthodox structures that are a little too complex for the normal listener to hum along with. But never the less, they are so catchy that their echo vibrates in your mind for a long time.” His description still fits perfectly.
Since the late 1970’s Jørgen Emborg’s compositional style and open-minded playing has created a very personal sound. He has fronted his own bands, and in the mid-1980’s he was the main composer for Frontline – the favorite rock band among jazz aficionados and the favorite jazz band among rock audiences. He co-led an extremely popular band with vocalist Mona Larsen, was a member of the Danish Radio Big Band and Swedish Tolvan Big Band, part of tenor saxophonist Bob Rockwell’s bands as well as being a very busy studio and live sideman.
Emborg’s distinguished talents as a musician and composer have earned him many honors, most recently the Danish Art Foundatioin’s lifetime honorary award – a rare and illustrious recognition for someone from the rhythmic music scene. The honor was motivated in Emborg’s musicianship
and compositions “…built on a foundation of musical brilliance, a knowledge of harmony reserved for a minority, and a musical drive that has produced an Emborg catalogue of new Danish evergreens.”
Emborg’s music has always balanced on the thin line between an extremely sophisticated expression and a lyrical spontaneity that also grabs listeners from outside the world of jazz. Emborg’s new acoustic quartet with harmonica phenomenon Mathias Heise, drummer Karsten Bagge and bassist Peter Hansen, performs nine new Emborg pieces that are on a par with the best of his compositions. One might think that he could not possibly pull more beautiful themes out of his sleeve, but once again Emborg demonstrates that he is still one of the country’s finest composers.
This recording contains wonderful ballads, rock-steady uptempo tracks, some inspiration from Brazil, and pieces that illustrate that Emborg never stops developing as a composer. But all tracks are unmistakably Emborg! The CD finishes off with a new recording of one of Emborg’s most beautiful and well-known tunes, Song For Toots, a tribute to Toots Thielemans, who passed away in 2016. Here, the young harmonica virtuoso Heise and one of Thielemans’ greatest admirers, pianist Jørgen Emborg, pay homage to the deceased master.
Morten Pedersen 5tet is a new band on the European scene of free jazz and improvised music. The bandleader, Morten Pedersen ( The Mighty Mouse, JapGaf, Maria Faust Group etc.) has united a group of excellent musicians – five strong personalities gathered in this international has band with musicians from Norway, Poland, Italy, Sweden and Denmark. The music is ethereal and a complex mix of composition and improvisation. The composed elements and strong melodies give the music a clear direction and a fresh sound, but still keeps the freedom and space for the musicians to improvise and go with their intuition.
A international musician collective based in Switzerland with a powerfull live set, celebrates jazz-funk-rock-fusion characterized by expressive musicians. Nexus Groove is often reminiscent of the 1970s in terms of sound and repertoire, but uses jazz, funk and blues, as well as hiphop, pop and rock, to give free rein to their intensity, wildness and creativity.
A meeting of three European musicians from different generations each with his own musical background: three sound artists, three virtuosic instrumentalists, three breath-taking improvisers. BEYOND with Jürg Wickihalder, Barry Guy and Lucas Niggl means strong melodies, a deeply affecting and sensuous lyricism, moments of exciting groove and a rare and fascinating textural density. This trio’s mutual understanding as they interact, which even in complex sections sounds fleet of foot and completely organic, is based upon a common way of working together. For the past couple of years, the Beyond trio has given several concerts. Then, in November 2016, they took themselves off for two days and evenings to Loft Cologne in Germany to record the album. It would be impossible not to notice both their evident desire to play and their joy in working together. For the listener, to hear them heading out from their starting point and into the unforeseen without ever losing their sense of forward motion is a pure pleasure. BEYOND mit Jürg Wickihalder, Barry Guy und Lucas Niggli: starke Melodien, tiefgehende, sinnliche Lyrik, rasant groovende Augenblicke und eine Dichte, wie sie selten zu hören ist. Im Trio Beyond treffen sich drei europäische Musiker verschiedener Generationen mit ihren je eigenen musikalischen Biografien: drei Klangkünstler, drei virtuose Instrumentalisten, drei atembraubende Improvisatoren.
Das gegenseitige Verständnis im Interplay, das selbst in komplexen Themen völlig organisch und leichtfüssig wirkt, basiert auf einem gemeinsamen Weg, der Wickihalder-Guy-Niggli zusammenwachsen liess: Das Trio Beyond hat in den beiden letzten Jahren zahlreiche Konzert gespielt, bevor im November 2016 an zwei Tagen und Abenden im Kölner Loft aufgenommen wurde. Die Spiellust der drei, ihre Freude am gemeinsamen Spiel, das von der Idee ins Unvorhersehbare führt ohne aus den Fugen zu geraten, ist unüberhörbar – sehr zu unserem Vergnügen.
1. A New One (J. Wickihalder) 5:02
2. Relaxing in The Forest (J. Wickihalder) 7:57
3. The Valley (J. Wickihalder) 8:18
4. Return of Ulysses (B. Guy) 5:57
5. Arts and Crafts (J. Wickihalder) 6:27
6. Süssholz (M. Griener) 3:33
7. Dipper (J. Wickihalder) 4:44
8. Sing! (J. Wickihalder) 5:01
9. The Last Breath (J. Wickihalder) 6:19
Jürg Wickihalder: Soprano, Alto and Tenor Saxophone
Barry Guy: Bass
Lucas Niggli: Drums
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There is No More Firmament is a remarkable collection of recent compositions from 2013–2016 that showcase the range, variety and continued creativity of Zorn as he enters his sixties.
Connected together with a thread of intensity, magic and madness, the music tells a twisted and complex story of a magical descent into madness.
The compositions include two works for brass ensembles, a woodwind quintet, jazz piano trio, string trio and two solo pieces for clarinet and trumpet, with the outrageous trumpet solo Merlin appearing in two realizations—one by jazz master Peter Evans and another by the European classical virtuoso Marco Blaauw.
1. Antiphonal Fanfare For The Great Hall
2. Freud
3. Merlin
4. Divagations
5. Divagations
6. The Steppenwolf
7. In Excelsis
8. Merlin
9. Il n'y a Plus de Firmament
James Baker: Conductor
Marcus Rojas: Tuba
Matthew Welch: Conductor
Alex Bender: Trumpet
Marco Blaauw: Double-bell Trumpet In C
Jay Campbell: Cello
Andy Clausen: Trombone
Kevin Cobb: Trumpet
Peter Evans: Bb Trumpet
Mike Garfield: Trumpet
John Gattis: Horns
Stephen Gosling: Piano
Louis Hanzlik: Trumpet
Andy Kemp: Trumpet, Piccolo Trumpet
Tim Leopold: Trumpet
Christian McBride: Bass
Rane Moore: Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Eb Clarinet
Adrian Morejon: Bassoon
Sam Nester: Trumpet
Mike Nicolas: Cello
Tara Helen O’Connor: Flute, Piccolo, Alto Flute, Bass Flute
Dreamsville album for sale by Jeff Hamilton Drums / Cory Weeds is scheduled to be released Apr 21, 2017 on the Cellar Live label. Tenor saxophonist Cory Weeds and the Jeff Hamilton Trio are at it again with a followup release to their critically acclaimed This Happy Madness recording. Dreamsville, a decidedly more melancholy recording features some lesser known gems such as Michael Franks' Lady Wants To Know, Henri Mancini's Nothing To Lose and a beautiful ballad by Anthony Newly called Love Is A Now And Then Thing. Dreamsville CD music contains a single disc.
