Liberetto II by Lars Danielsson

Lars Danielsson

Liberetto II

Format: CD
Label: ACT music
UPC: 0614427957122
Catnr: ACT 95712
Release date: 29 August 2014
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Label
ACT music

UPC
0614427957122

Catalogue number
ACT 95712

Release date
29 August 2014

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

"Never change a winning team" – The old sporting wisdom can also be applied to music: When soul mates and perfectly matched musicians find one another, they are well advised to stick together. "Liberetto II" by the exceptional Swedish bassist and cellist Lars Danielsson is the living proof. Three years ago he found a quartet with the former e.s.t. drummer Magnus Öström, the British guitarist John Paricelli and most of all as a new dream team duo with Armenian pianist Tigran. It interpreted his compositions and realised his musical ideas more precisely than probably any ensemble before it.

STERN magazine attested the Liberetto debut, which hit store shelves in 2012, a "mighty energy" that unleashes itself from a power centre of serenity. On "Liberetto II", Danielsson and his quartet take that energy a step further, exploring new musical dimensions at the borders between chamber jazz, classic and European folk. The melody is always the focus, and the way they develop and creatively manipulate it stands – as Danielsson's title neologism suggests – to equal parts in the formal tradition of European classical music and in the improvisational freedom of jazz. The uniting element is not just an intellectual abstraction, as is so often the case in many crossover experiments: "Understanding music is entirely a matter of honest feeling. If you think too much while you are playing, the narrative, the authenticity, the essence of the music can be lost. That is why it feels so natural to play and listen to jazz, because all you need to do is open your heart, soak up the music and enjoy the ride. Strictly speaking that is true for every kind of music, because music should always come from the heart and not the head," is Danielsson's credo.

What he means by that is ideally illustrated by a piece like "Passacaglia": A nimble melody, here carried by Tigran's piano, invites the others to give it structure and a rhythmic foundation and to develop it further. Classical forms of theme variations and the jazz principle of theme, bridge and revival provide the structural framework within which each musician is free to express himself. And Danielsson proves himself once again to be a grand master of atmosphere – the art of taking a melodic miniature and transforming it into an elegiac tale that you emotionally simply can't escape; like "Miniature", in which a simple musical motif evolves into a melancholy work of art.

Just as on the debut of this collaboration, Tigran is once again a masterful and kindred spirit in interpreting Danielsson's visions on this album, especially when they have their origins in Scandinavian folk music. The compositional contribution of this virtuoso, who has homes in France and the US, but who is also influenced by the melodies of his homeland, is not only the title "Swedish Song", it is also how it underscores what Danielsson already ascertained the first time they worked together: "Tigran's songs sound more Swedish than mine."

To add even more colour to "Liberetto II", Danielsson this time also invited further likeminded artists as special guests to the recording sessions in legendary Rainbow Studio in Oslo and Tia Dia Studio in Sweden's Mölnlycke. For example Mathias Eick, the young Norwegian trumpeter, who carries the baton of the tradition of the lyrical-spherical Nordic trumpet sound like no other, while at the same time interpreting it in a modern way. Just how fantastically that harmonises with Danielsson's musical concept was already plain to hear on the 2009 album "Tarantella". And this time around, on "Liberetto II", Eick is already the resounding voice on the opener "Grace" – assisted by Sting guitarist Dominic Miller – lending an irresistible character to Danielsson's melodic concept, and then again later on the almost classical triptychon "I Tima", "II Blå" and "III Violet". On "Eilat", to which Danielsson was inspired by a sojourn in the Middle East, the Israeli percussionist Zohar Fresco, with whom Danielsson plays with Leszek Możdżer, helps build the mood. Just as logical is the conclusion of the album: with onomatopoeic vocalisations, Cæcilie Norby adds the final touch to "Beautiful Darkness". Not only is she a magnificent singer, she also moonlights this time as the producer of the album.

Artist(s)

Magnus Öström

Magnus Öström was born on May 3rd, 1965 in Skultuna, Sweden as second son to local painter Arne and Siv Öström. His brother Tommy was three years older and influenced Magnus in his early years with his eclectic record collection including Jimmy Hendrix, Deep Purple, Almond Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. At the age of eight Magnus built his first drumkit out of his fathers empty paintcans and only a year later he started his first band together with a kid from across the street, Esbjörn Svensson. Magnus received his first real drumkit only one year later as a christmas present. Another year later he performed his first concert. The band was called ”Beware Of The Beginners”.
In 1978 his brother took him to a concert of Billy Cobham with John McLaughlin. This experience turned his musical world upside down and got him into jazzrock. Aged 13 to 16 Magnus had several bands simultaneously together with Esbjörn Svensson playing all different styles, from dance-music to punk. From 1981 to 1983 Magnus studied at the music highschool (Gymnasium) in Västerås. During those years Esbjörn and Magnus had their first trio together. From 1983 to 1985 he then studied music at Sjöviks folk high-school.
In 1985 Magnus moved to Stockholm to study at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He immediately started to play in different bands on Stockholm ́s jazz scene. Between 1987 and 1992 he was a constant member of Monica Borrfors band, a well-known Swedish jazz vocalist who played mainly jazz standards and together they toured extensively throughout Sweden and beyond. ”Playing live, especially with a singer is the best school in the world for a young drummer”, he says.
In 1989 after a break of a few years Magnus and Esbjörn hooked up again and started jamming together. They formed a band called ”Stock Street B”. The setup included - amoung other gadgets - samplers and octapads with sampled vocals. ”It was too early for that kind of thing. No one understood what we were doing, really. They thought we were playing to backing-tracks but everything we did was live...!” In 1991 him and Esbjörn started the predecessor to e.s.t. and in 1992 Dan Berglund joined on bass. Together they recorded 12 albums and one concert DVD, toured the world several times over, sold hundreds of thousands of albums, and were titled the ”trio of the decade”. Nowadays e.s.t. are considered to have been the most influential band in jazz in the Noughties and their album ”Live in Hamburg” (ACT 6002-2) has been awarded ”Album of the Decade” by no lesser than the London Times. The career of e.s.t. came to a sudden, tragic end when Esbjörn Svensson died in a scuba diving accident on June 14, 2008.
Three years later, on Februar 25, 2011, Magnus Öström released “Thread of Life” (ACT 9525-2) – his debut as a leader and his first (musical) sign of life after the tragedy. Its haunting, dark music, drawing inspiration from jazz, progressive rock, drum’n’bass and minimal music was Öströms attempt of coping with the huge loss. On the song “Ballad for E”, Magnus Öström and Dan Berglund played together in the studio for the first time after Svenssons death – accompanied by the great e.s.t. fan Pat Metheny.
In July 2011, the German JazzBaltica Festival is paying tribute to Esbjörn Svensson and e.s.t. .
The highlight of the festival is an evening with music by and for Esbjörn Svensson, on which Magnus Öström not only performed with his “Thread of Life” band but also was hosting the programme.
In 2012, Magnus Öström received the „Echo Jazz“, Germany’s most important music award, as „best drummer international“ for „Thread of Life“. His performance of piece “Tears for Esbjörn”, together with pianist Iiro Rantala was an emotional peak of the award ceremony.
Four years after the death of Esbjörn Svensson, on March 30, 2012 with „301“ (ACT 9029-2) a new e.s.t. album was released – with previously unreleased studio material, produced by Magnus Öström and Dan Berglund. The album made it to #53 of the German popcharts and #1 of the jazzcharts. Also, since the release of “Liberetto” (ACT 9520-2) in February 2012, Magnus Öström is a permanent member of the band of bassist Lars Danielsson.

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Mathias Eick

Being one of Norways most promising young talents for over a decade, Mathias Eick moves steadily towards being one of the finest musicians from the Northern regions, regardless of age group and genre. Still only 30 years old, Eick has marvellous range of achievements to show for himself; in 2007 he won the International Jazz Talent, awarded to him by the International Jazz Festivals Organization situated in New York. He then won the Statoil Scholarship in 2009, undoubtedly the largest scholarship in Norway, and he is currently heading for release of his second album on one of the worlds most influential jazz record labels, ECM.
In the meantime Eick keeps himself busy participating on several albums playing either trumpet, double bass, vibraphone, piano, guitar, or in his own words “anything needed.” Some of his collaborators have been, among a vast amount of others, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra and Chick Corea, Iro Haarla, Manu Katché and Jacob Young. Eick is also a member of the Norwegian genre-defying group Jaga Jazzist, a group with which he has performed for many years.
Eicks band is currently a five-piece, featuring two drummers, bass, piano and Eick himself. The lineup changes invariably as all the participating musicians are amongst Norways finest, but for the most part the band consists of Andreas Ulvo (piano), Torstein Lofthus and Gard Nilssen (drums), and Audun Erlien (bass). The music is composed by Eick and pays tribute to both the truly unique Scandinavian soundscape, as well as the lyricism and melancholy of the American master trumpeter Kenny Wheeler.

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Lars Danielsson

Swedish bassist, cellist, composer and arranger Lars Danielsson is well-know and admired throughout the International jazz scene for his lyrical playing and strong groove. Born in 1958, he is a musician with particularly broad interests. At the conservatory in Gothenburg he had studied classical cello, before changing to bass and to jazz. As a bassist he has a uniquely rounded sound, which is as lyrical as powerful. The 'Lars Danielsson Quartet' with former Miles Davis saxophonist David Liebman, pianist Bobo Stenson and legendary ECM drummer Jon Christensen has received a lot of recognition and numerous awards during the 18 years of its existence. Danielsson has released ten solo-albums since 1980 with his quartet and guests such as Alex Acuña and John Abercrombie....

The "Lars Danielsson Quartet" with former Miles Davis saxophonist David Liebman, pianist Bobo Stenson and legendary ECM drummer Jon Christensen has received a lot of recognition and numerous awards during the 18 years of its existence. Danielsson has released ten solo-albums since 1980 with his quartet and guests such as Alex Acuña and John Abercrombie. The Quartet has been a testing ground for Danielsson’s work as a composer and arranger, which has extended over the last years to include both - symphony orchestra and big band music. He has worked with Denmark’s Radio Concert Orchestra as well as the JazzBaltica Ensemble as a composer, arranger and producer.

Lars Danielsson has worked with: Randy and Michael Brecker, John Scofield, Jack DeJohnette, Mike Stern, Billy Hart, Charles Lloyd, Terri Lyne Carrington and Dave Kikoski. He has also been a member of the "Trilok Gurtu Group".

As a producer, Lars Danielsson worked with Cæcilie Norby, Jonas Johansen, the Danish Radio Concert Orchestra and Viktoria Tolstoy.

In 2007, he received a commission for a piece with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestrafeaturing himself as a soloist together with Leszek Moždžer. He has also received a commission from the NDR Big Band and Wolfgang Haffner to write a piece for the JazzBaltica Festival 2007. Furthermore, he has been working with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra in collaboration with Vytas Sondeckis and Bugge Wesseltoft.

His 2008 album “Pasodoble” was a huge success. Jazzwise UK wrote about Danielsson’s collaboration with Polish pianist Leszek Moždžer: “A clarity of thought and execution rarely encountered in jazz.”

“Pasodoble” was followed by another collaboration with Leszek Moždžer on the 2009 album “Tarantella”. Once more the album caused enthusiastic reactions by Jazzwise: “Easily Danielsson’s finest album to date, it also numbers among the finest albums in the ACT catalogue.”

On his most recent album “Liberetto”, Lars Daniellson teams up with Armenian piano shooting Star “Tigran”, e.s.t. drummer Magnus Öström guitarist John Paricelli and Trumpeter Arve Henriksen to discovers new musical spaces and the freedom of music between chamber jazz, classic and European folk music.

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Zohar Fresco

Cæcilie Norby

The daughter of two classical musicians – her mother was an opera singer, her father a composer – Caecilie Norby has always been a traveller between different worlds of music – jazz, blues, soul, pop, rock and classical – Norby can do it all, and that always in an absolutely distinctive way. She was the first female Danish artist to garner a recording deal with the legendary Blue Note label, and she has worked with many international stars from the widest range of fields. Perhaps the most important of these is the bass player Lars Danielsson, who not only became her husband, but also the producer and partner on almost all of her projects. With almost half a million albums...

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