Dan Karlsberg Trio - All In (May 8, 2021)

The Long Lost Trio Album of Dan, Steve, and Anthony:

Several years back I decided to have my friends Steve and Anthony come back from Brooklyn to play a few gigs and go into the studio to record us playing. We had done two previous albums together, but not exclusively as a trio. Our chemistry together was evident the very first time we played together, and in many ways, our sound hadn't changed since. Steve and Anthony give me the freedom to create however I want, as if I am playing by myself and can move in any direction I choose. This is very rare. And I believe it is a mutual feeling between the three of us.

So knowing we hadn't made strictly a trio album, it felt important to me to be able to capture this groups chemistry. I knew that we played best with out any preconceived ideas. I just called tunes we all knew, or I brought in some simple themes for us to improvise with (which was the case for John Coltrane's Consequences). Steve Whipple had these different launching points, or little games to play, for us to create free improvisations. Some of which sound like complete songs (which is the case for the improvisation I titled Bruce Lee). We recorded many takes in 2 days. At night, we played at the Blue Wisp here in Cincinnati. I whittled it down to 9 tracks that I have turned into the album, Dan Karlsberg Trio: "All In"

-Dan Karlsberg

1. All In 01:16

2. Rhythm-A-Ning 06:29

3. Consequences 03:18

4. Bruce Lee 02:54

5. Nutty 03:57

6. Whipple & "T" Time 01:20

7. Blue Monk 07:37

8. Epilogue 02:01

9. Camptown Races 04:07

Dan Karlsberg - piano, ukulele (track 9 only)

Steve Whipple - bass

Anthony "T" Lee - drums

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Dan Karlsberg / JD Allen / Tom Buckley - Tales from the Winter Solstice (2018)

"Tales from the Winter Solstice" is Dan Karlsberg's 4th release as a leader. It is his first album featuring the instrumentation of piano/saxophone/drums. All music on the album is written by Karlsberg, and is a delicate mix of fully written out music and improvisation coexisting together in an unorthodox way. "Tales" features beautiful melodies juxtaposed with powerful, sometimes dissonant improvisations. It is also an opportunity to hear the great saxophonist JD Allen perform in a context you wont hear elsewhere.

JD Allen - tenor sax

Dan Karlsberg - piano

Tom Buckley - drums

1. Movement II for Two Violins 07:40

2. Death of a Balloon 03:15

3. Conflict 05:05

4. The First Snowfall 05:44

5. Epic of Arushi, and Her Younger Brother Ansh 07:59

6. Chorale for Bud Powell 07:55

7. How the West was Lost 03:51

Dan Karlsberg

Cincinnati, Ohio

From Cincinnati, Dan Karlsberg is an active performer, composer, and teacher. He currently has 4 albums under his own name, and has worked with such artists as Donald Harrison, Tim Warfield, JD Allen, Ignacio Berroa, Carl Allen, among many others. Karlsberg is currently an adjunct instructor at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music.

Dan Karlsberg - The 'Nati 6 (2015)

Label: Natijazz

Source: Cdbaby 

When music lovers think of Jazz, places like New York, Chicago, New Orleans and Kansas City most likely come to mind. But pianist and composer Dan Karlsberg points out that many artists who made those cities famous came from elsewhere, including Cincinnati. To that end, he pays tribute to his hometown’s Jazz heritage with his new album, “The ‘Nati 6.”

"Sometimes, it feels like Cincinnati is the musical underdog, but you won't find another city this size with the Jazz scene we currently have, and the rich history and traditions," Karlsberg said.

“The ‘Nati 6” is not just the title of the album; it is the name of the group of extraordinary musicians Karlsberg recruited for the project, all veteran performers who have recorded and toured with some of the world’s best-known contemporary Jazz artists, while still calling Cincinnati home. They include:

- Bassist Jim Anderson, who has worked with the notable Art Blakely, Ernestine Anderson, Hank Crawford and Nat Adderly.
- Drummer Art Gore, who has performed with George Benson, Teru Nakamura and Herbie Hancock.
- Pianist and trumpeter Kim Pensyl, who has twice been named one of Billboard’s Top -20 Contemporary Jazz Artists of the
Year, and has had four Top-10 albums on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz chart.
- Saxophonist Brent Gallaher, who has toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.
- Trombonist Marc Fields, who toured with the Ray Charles Orchestra, six times.

And then, there is Karlsberg himself, who in addition to leading his own group has worked as a sideman with Tim Warfield, Donald Harrison, Ted Nash, JD Allen, and many others. He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), who now teaches there as well as at the acclaimed Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan. A lifelong resident of Cincinnati, Karlsberg has spent years performing with the area’s top Jazz musicians, leading him to select five of his favorites to join him on “The ‘Nati 6.”

Comprised of 10 tracks, “The ‘Nati 6” defies easy classification. Though unequivocally Jazz, the album has hints of classical, folk and pop music scattered throughout. It is a style Karlsberg loosely describes as “Vince Guaraldi and Cecil Taylor meet Mozart.”

"It definitely has some avant garde aspects, but the album's focus is mainly on beautiful melodies," he said. “Some of the tracks are really complex. Each one is different, but most were inspired by something personal.”

Three of the tunes are dedicated to people Karlsberg knew who passed away—his grandparents (“Ballade No. 2”), a young woman who worked at the Riddle Rd. Market, a corner store in his neighborhood (“Ballade No. 1”), and a boyhood friend (“Mr. Shands Jr.”)  Read more...

1. Ballade No. 2
2. Freddie Freeloader
3. Ballade No. 1
4. Prelude
5. Oh! Susanna
6. Tchaikovsky 1
7. Pavane of Sleeping Beauty
8. Mr. Shands Jr.
9. Tchaikovsky 2
10. Modest Minor Melody

Trombone: MARC FIELDS
Trumpet: KIM PENSYL
Saxophones: BRENT GALLAHER
Bass: JIM ANDERSON
Drums: ART GORE
Piano: DAN KARLSBERG

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