Record Reviews

BALVIG / BULOW / CHRISTENSEN ~ ASSOCIATED WITH WATER AMP 015 (Barcode: 662578831099) ~ DENMARK ~ Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017 This is the debut album by the Danish Jazz trio comprising of pianist Christian BalvigFind albums by this artist, bassist Adrian ChristensenFind albums by this artist and drummer Frederik BulowFind albums by this artist. They perform eleven original compositions, four by Balvig, five by Christensen and two by Bulow. The music is a beautifully melodic piano trio performance, with very strong and coherent compositions and heartfelt execution. The tracks are relatively short, so the music flows fluently from one track to another, displaying new harmonious vistas one after another. The overall character of the music is rather contemplative and lyrical, and on the whole quite minimalistic. The level of the compositions is superb throughout, which of course adds to the imminent success of this album. Balvig plays rather sparingly, using a lot of single notes rather that long arpeggios, which is slightly unusual and very effective. He is definitely concentrating on delivering the musical message rather than showing off. In the more energetic tunes his playing becomes percussive and sizzling. Christensen plays splendidly, moving hand in hand with the piano and filling effectively the spaces and the bottom range of the scale. Bulow stays most of the time in the shadows, amicably supplying the rhythmic pulsations but carefully not dominating the music. The level of interplay and mutual respect between the trio members is admirable. Altogether this is a splendid debut effort, which deserves to be heard and will surely satisfy all piano trio connoisseurs all around the globe. I am already on the lookout for their next recording, considering the potential displayed here. Well done indeed!

Updated: 04/10/2017Posted: 04/10/2017

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MISCEO ~ BETTER WORD FOR LOVE AMP 069 (Barcode: 013415901787) ~ DENMARK ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2020 This is the debut album by international ensemble MisceoFind albums by this artist, which combines a classic Jazz piano trio and a Classical string duo: Finnish pianist Artturi RonkaFind albums by this artist, Danish bassist Adrian ChristensenFind albums by this artist, Danish drummer Frederik BulowFind albums by this artist, Danish violinist Kern WesterbergFind albums by this artist and Polish cellist Joasia CieslakFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven original compositions, four composed by Bulow and three by Christensen. The music is wonderfully innovative and contemporary, bridging the Jazz and Classical idioms into a new, integral entity, which balances between the two universes and manages to create a perfect hybrid. Anybody expecting another "Jazz & Strings" album could not be further from what the listener will experience on this album. Misceo, which was founded by Bulow and Cieslak, manages to fulfill the initial intent of bringing together different elements on the same level of substance, which is definitely not an easy task. There is a stylistic difference between the compositions by Bulow, which are mostly based on strong polyrhythmic and odd meters, which are emphasized by his dynamic drum parts, whereas those by Christensen tend to be more lyrical and tranquil, which creates a certain balance as far as the entire album is concerned. The performances are, as expected, all stellar and these talented and experienced musicians contribute wholeheartedly to create a magical expedition into contemporary music, which is both aesthetically fulfilling and intellectually challenging. The music was excellently recorded, which is very important to present the intricate details of this music and capture the unique ambience. Kudos to the ambitious Norwegian AMPFind albums on this label label, which in the last few years established its position on the vanguard European (mostly Scandinavian) recorded music. Overall this is an important, innovative album, which truly deserves the attention of European music connoisseurs, who are able to "think outside the box" in search of new and uncharted musical experiences. Warmly recommended!

Updated: 26/06/2020Posted: 26/06/2020

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KARMEN ROIVASSEPP ~ DANCE OF SOUNDS AMP 025 (Barcode: 662578831181) ~ ESTONIA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2018 This is the debut album by Estonian (resident in Denmark) vocalist / composer Karmen RoivasseppFind albums by this artist and her quartet which also includes pianist Simon EskildsenFind albums by this artist, bassist Adrian ChristensenFind albums by this artist and drummer Daniel SommerFind albums by this artist. A couple of musicians guest on one track each. The album presents eight songs, six composed by Roivassepp (two featuring her lyrics), one by Eskildsen and one is a standard. The songs are sung in Estonian and English. The music is classic melody based mainstream Jazz, but definitely not trivial due to the high level of the compositions, which are well structured and harmonically coherent. The piano trio supports the singer beautifully and plays some excellent instrumental passages, with Eskildsen demonstrating his magic touch on the keyboards. The vocals are fine but hardly innovative or exceptional. Roivassepp has a good voice, but lacks probably the experience Jazz vocals are usually based upon. I am sure she will improve significantly over time, and if she keeps writing such great songs as those on this album, her future prospects are all positive. Her singing in Estonian is way better than in English, which is of course the persisting problem with singers not singing in their native language. Overall this is a very good debut album, which Roivassepp can be proud of, especially on the compositional level. I am already eagerly waiting to hear her next album.

Updated: 04/10/2018Posted: 04/10/2018

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