Edinburgh «The Lot» 2008
Andersen.Smith.Vinaccia, The Lot, Edinburgh Familiar though they are with this material, there’s a real sense of enjoyment and of creating it anew every time. Smith’s Prelude to a Kiss, with its questing intro and soulful, downward slides, was a gorgeous re-reading of Ellington’s melody and the encore of Andersen’s beautifully gliding, ethereal Dreamhorse would, alone, make the final dates of this Scottish Arts Council Tune-up tour in Glasgow and Lanark this weekend unmissable. Rob Adams «The...
read moreReviews: Electra (2005)
Once spoken of along with Garbarek, Rypdal and Christensen as one of the “Big Four” of Scandinavian jazz, recent developments in the indigenous jazz of this fertile region have produced many new challengers to Andersen’s crown. … Electra amply fulfils the brief for a modern, fluid, and spacious sound-scape. Vocalists join the mix more as a choral texture than for any lyric purpose, leaving Henriksen’s plaintive trumpet as the de facto lead vocalist. … The longest and boldest piece on the disc, it exemplifies the seamless fusion of...
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Reviews: The Triangle (2004)
Most acoustic jazz pianotrios make the keyboard the central focus.In this one it’s the remarkable double-bass playing of the Norwegian Arild Andersen-a virtuoso who can make a plucked note sound as it might last forever. His musical awareness imparts logic and grace to both his own contributions and the ensemble sound of his group. Triangle is more animated and alert than it’s more ruminative predecessor Achirana. A few of the pieces have unexpectedly direct grooves and catchy hooks, several are romantic,broken-chord drifters...
read moreReviews: Archirana (2000)
Athenian pianist Vassilis Tsabropoulos is one of those rare musicians who is equally at home in both the classical and jazz worlds. His album Achirana demonstrates that, while noted principally for his prowess as a classical pianist, conductor and composer, he also has much to say in a jazz idiom. Accompanied by Norwegian bassist Arild Andersen and British veteran drummer John Marshall, he has assembled an exquisite record filled with fluid, fluent improvisations, which transport and delight. Sample the fearlessly slow gems «Diamond Cut...
read moreReviews Karta (2000)
Das Trio Markus Stockhausen (Trompete) – Arild Andersen (Bass) – Patrice Héral (Percussion) bietet seit Jahren einen neben seinem grenzüberschreitenden, äußerst lebendigen und humorvollen Stil auch immer wieder neue Überraschungen. So lud es vor zwei Jahren mit Terje Rypdal einen Musiker ein, der den elektrischen Gitarrensound weltweit prägte. Es entstand eine neue Musik, die diese vier virtuosen Künstler auf ihrer ECM-Veröffentlichung KARTA und fortan auch auf zahlreichen Jazzfestivals erfolgreich präsentierten. So...
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