Record Reviews

ESPEN ERIKSEN TRIO ~ NEVER ENDING JANUARY RUNE GRAMMOFON 2173 ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2015 Released: 2015 This is the third album by the Norwegian piano trio led by pianist / composer Espen EriksenFind albums by this artist with bassist Lars Tormod JensetFind albums by this artist and drummer Andreas ByeFind albums by this artist. It presents eight original compositions, all by Eriksen. The music is a classic example of the Scandinavian Jazz variety: beautifully melodic, utterly melancholic and elegantly minimalistic. Eriksen writes sensuous, captivating melody lines, which develop slowly and delicately as each tune progresses in time, gaining momentum and strength up to a moderately climatic level and then it is suddenly over. This type of music has its perils of course, as it can easily slip into smooth background trivia, which often happens. However it is certainly not the case here, as Eriksen manages to control just the right amount of sweetness to make his music captivating but not crossing the line into kitsch, which speaks volumes about his taste. The rhythm section has a limited window of opportunity to show off here, with the main focus being to follow the leader amicably and sensitively, which they certainly stick to admirably. Jenset supports the melody lines adding a solid ground and overtones and Bye, who uses mallets extensively, adds a nice steady heartbeat. Overall the trio works like an organic body, with everything being just exactly as it should. The album was excellently recorded by Michael Scott HartungFind albums by this artist at the Propeller Studio in Oslo, a city which is practically a recording Mecca these days. Listeners with proper Hi-Fi equipment will certainly start drooling while this music starts playing. Overall this is a highly enjoyable and aesthetically pleasing album, which is accessible to a wide range of music lovers, nor necessarily limited to the Jazz audiences. Recommended!

Updated: 12/03/2016Posted: 12/03/2016

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MEDBOE / ERIKSEN / HALLE ~ THE SPACE BETWEEN LOSEN 151 (Barcode: 7090025831515) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2015 Released: 2015 This is the debut album by a trio of Norwegian musicians: guitarist / composer Haftor MedboeFind albums by this artist (who lives in Edinburgh, Scotland), pianist Espen EriksenFind albums by this artist and trumpeter Gunnar HalleFind albums by this artist. This trio is a sized-down version of a quintet, which features these musicians as well and which released a live album recently. This album presents seven original compositions, all by Medboe. The music was recorded at the renowned Castlesound Studios near Edinburgh and the resulting sound quality is spectacular. The music is strikingly melodic, with a clear emphasis on the beauty of melody and harmony, the two most basic elements of music, that strangely are almost completely absent from what is considered as music these days. Its relationship with Jazz is very subtle, more hinted that actually present up front. Although the parts are partly improvised, but the improvisation never actually leaves the basic melody from sight and leaves the motifs plainly audible. Although the music was composed by Medboe, his part in its performance is relatively limited. Most of the time the music is carried by the piano / trumpet duo, with the guitar, often heavily synthesized, enters for a brief statement or solo and then stays well in the background if at all present. This of course is by no means accidental and is obviously a part of the entire concept. The album´s title is therefore completely appropriate in relation to its contents. Few people realize of course, that playing very melodic and seemingly uncomplicated music and make it fascinating is infinitely more difficult than playing fierce displays of neck-breaking pseudo virtuosity. These musicians are simply masters of the "cool", where less means more and nothing is played which does not organically belong to the music. Obviously this music sounds Scandinavian, or even Nordic. The contemplative, melancholic and lyrical statements put forward by these musicians are inevitably a part of their collective consciousness, but the ability to be able to connect to this amazing music by people from outside their native Culture, means that they have the gift of making it completely universal. Overall this album if full of majestic, deeply moving music, which resonances in the listener´s mind for a long time after silence takes over. The minimalism, elegance, panache and yes, amazing talent of these musicians are a blessing in a world in which our species are losing the Titanic struggle for humanity. Thank you all for this gift of music!

Updated: 16/02/2016Posted: 16/02/2016

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