Bobo Bobo Stenson Trio

The Bobo Stenson Trio’s ability of covering far-reaching idioms and wide-ranging repertoire within the scope of their personal diction has become both hallmark and custom, inspiring the New York Times to say the pianist “makes sublime piano-trio records without over-playing. It’s pulsating, with long improvised phrases; it’s alive.” Charting an equally subtle and idiosyncratic path through originals and melodies derived from various Scandinavian composers, the distinguished group proves of a particularly supple alchemy on Sphere.

Cantando continues Stenson's twenty-year relationship with Anders Jormin. A virtuosic player with remarkable extended techniques, his relationship with Stenson has always been that of an equal—his singing double-bass as much a factor in defining the trio's unique complexion as Stenson's own ability to bring unerring lyricism to even the most open-ended context. Jormin has also been responsible for introducing compelling material, including that of Cuban singer/composer Silvio Rodriguez, whose "Olivia" opens Cantando with the perfect combination of melodic resonance and liberal interpretation.

Bobo Stenson Trio - Contra La Indecisión (2018) {ECM 2582} (Complete Artwork)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 281 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 148 Mb
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© 2018 ECM Records | ECM 2582 / 578 6976
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Post Bop / Light / Piano Trio

The great Swedish trio of Bobo Stenson takes a stand against indecision in a decisively beautiful new album. As ever, the trio draws upon a wide range of source materials. A yearning title song by Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez, Bartók’s adaptation of a Slovak folk song, a piece from Mompou’s Cançons I Danses collection, and Erik Satie’s Elégie are integrated into the programme, alongside original compositions by Stenson and Anders Jormin and group improvising.

Four years after “Cantando”, a new album from the Bobo Stenson Trio – recorded in Lugano last December – explores a broad arc of material. Here we find: free playing (the trio has its own, fresh approach to collective improvising), tunes by Bill Evans (“Your Story”, offered here as a tribute to Paul Motian, for whom this tune was a favourite) and by George Russell (“Event VI” from “Living Time”, another piece associated with Evans), Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s “Oft Am I Glad”, a Norwegian hymn (in an arrangement by Anders Jormin and folk singer Sinikka Langeland), contemporary composition by Norway’s Ola Gjeilo, a Wolf Biermann protest song, Argentine composer Ariel Ramírez’s folkloric “La Peregrinación”, and more. Wide-ranging repertoire has become a hallmark of Bobo Stenson recordings. But it’s not just the eclecticism that is striking.

A pianist who has always given more attention to the shape of a melody than to the condition of his outward career, musicians' musician Bobo Stenson is suddenly ubiquitous. War Orphans finds Stenson, Anders Jormin and Jon Christensen in peak form as they rove freely through an intriguing repertoire that includes two Ornette Coleman tunes, Ellington's "Melancholia", a beautiful Cuban love song by Silvio Rodriguez, and original material by bassist Jormin and the leader.

Bobo Stenson Trio - Contra La Indecisión (2018) {ECM 2582 Official Digital Download}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44kHz - Official Digital Download -> 303 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 153 Mb
Full Artwork (jpg+pdf) -> 9 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2018 ECM Records | ECM 2582
Jazz / Modern Creative / Post Bop / Piano Trio

The great Swedish trio of Bobo Stenson takes a stand against indecision in a decisively beautiful new album. As ever, the trio draws upon a wide range of source materials. A yearning title song by Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez, Bartók’s adaptation of a Slovak folk song, a piece from Mompou’s Cançons I Danses collection, and Erik Satie’s Elégie are integrated into the programme, alongside original compositions by Stenson and Anders Jormin and group improvising. So strong is the group’s character and the musical identity of each of its members that the integration of this material always feels organic and logical. Stenson’s lyrical touch, Jormin’s folk-flavoured arco bass and Jon Fält’s flickering, textural drumming are all well-displayed on Contra la indecision, the trio’s first new recording in six years. Produced by Manfred Eicher, the album was recorded at Lugano’s Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI studio in May 2017.

As Esbjörn Svensson's trio has developed into a first-rate contemporary jazz entity, the combined acoustic-electric sound he employs is more alluring and arresting with each recording. The subtle nuances of amplified keyboard shades that embellish his piano playing is a unique quality of E.S.T.'s music that sets them apart from the vast majority of combos who place a larger value on louder complements. Another aspect of this group is that they are truly a working ensemble with stable personnel, as bassist Dan Berglund and drummer Magnus Öström have joined Svensson in this trio for years. The meditative and surrealistic quality of this music is hard to deny or dismiss, as it is so refined and defined within a spiritual parameter - unique unto itself, and beyond most modern categories. While the titles are elusively cryptic, they can shed some light on the musical content…

Revisited is a hybrid of studio and concert recordings from the acclaimed Norwegian pianist/composer Helge Lien and his trio.