Rice, Rice, Hillman & Pedersen

Not only is Niels Pedersen a great bassist, but he puts a lot of care into his solo projects as well. Pedersen is joined by guitarist Ulf Wakenius for a slow, percolating version of "Our Love Is Here to Stay." Johnny Griffin's tenor sax joins in on the bassist's challenging blues "The Puzzle" and jousts with the string players for top solo honors on a vigorous workout of "You and the Night and the Music." Victor Lewis and Alex Riel share the drumming duties. A surprise guest is European pop vocalist Lisa Nilsson, who does a beautiful interpretation of Pedersen's "Those Who Were"; the leader discovered her by hearing one of her recordings on his daughter's radio. By far this is Niels Pedersen's most impressive release to date.

George Shearing, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, Louis Stewart - The MPS Trio Sessions (2007) {4CD Set, Universal rec 1977-1979}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 992 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 517 Mb
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© 1977-79, 2007 MPS / Universal | 06025 1745068
Jazz / Bop / Mainstream / Piano

For those fortunate enough to hear and own the immaculately produced Germany/Black Forest based MPS recordings, distributed as imported pristine virgin vinyl LPs that were pressed in the '70s, you already know the quality of this four-CD set of George Shearing's trio. With the peerless Dane Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and Ireland's genius guitarist Louis Stewart, they can hardly do anything wrong musically.

Though as central to his compositional career as his piano works, Grieg's choral works are rarely heard outside his native land and even more rarely recorded. This splendid 2007 BIS disc with Grete Pedersen leading the Norske Solistkor (the Norwegian Soloists' Choir) adds 13 a cappella pieces to the international Grieg catalog. Some are intimately emotional secular works like "Margaret's Cradle Song," while others are grander scared works like the setting of "Ave, Maris Stella." Some like "As I Lay Down So Late" were originally composed for the medium, while others were adapted for the medium either by the composer from one of his songs as in "Last Spring" or by the conductor from one of his piano pieces as in "Once Upon a Time" from the Opus 71 set of Lyric Pieces.

This CD was produced to pay homage to one of the greatest Jazz musicians of this century. With the aid of two world-renowned musicians - Danish bass player Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen and American pianist Mulgrew Miller - we have produced a recording that emphasises the timeless quality of Duke Ellington's music and stands as a tribute to his unique talent. Written some sixty years ago, the pieces performed here are based on Ellington's legendary duets with Jimmy Blanton which brought piano and bass together in such a new and exciting way. Pedersen and Miller have taken the same idea and come up with a modern interpretation of Ellington's compositions that captures the same spirit and mood. Recorded in Copenhagen in a single session, the result is a lyrical and magical performance that serves to demonstrate the rich heritage and lasting influence of Ellington's music.