Michael Asgaard Andersen

This 2014 BGO two-fer pairs 1972's Blue River and Stages: The Lost Album, largely recorded in 1972 but released in 1991. It's a nice pairing, containing Andersen's acclaimed Columbia debut and the record he cut for the label immediately afterward, a record the label didn't release until two decades later. Andersen made good records before and good records after, but these two albums are arguably his peak and it's nice to have them together on a two-fer.

Box set in ECM’s acclaimed Old & New Masters series reintroduces Arild Andersen’s first three leader dates for the label – “Clouds In My Head”, “Shimri”, and “Green Shading Into Blue”. Recorded between 1975 and 1978, none of these albums has previously been issued on compact disc, and this edition is eagerly awaited. The music traces Andersen’s personal evolution from ‘free’-inclined bassist to bandleader-composer and introduces some players who would prove important for the future of the music – amongst them an 18-year-old Jon Balke on the “Clouds” session.