Showing posts with label Hanna Paulsberg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hanna Paulsberg. Show all posts

Monday, March 27, 2017

Hanna Paulsberg Concept - Waltz for Lili

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:26
Size: 92,7 MB
Art: Front

(8:02)  1. Waltz for Lili
(6:27)  2. Potters Lullaby
(6:21)  3. Sang til Pastor Wang
(6:31)  4. Noah's Tune
(7:21)  5. A Trip to the Brown Castle
(5:42)  6. Mufasa

Norway's place on the international jazz map has been assured for decades: first with saxophonist Jan Garbarek, guitarist Terje Rypdal and bassist Arild Andersen; then, a second wave including trumpeters Arve Henriksen and Nils Petter Molvaer, and pianists Bugge Wesseltoft and Christian Wallumrod; and, more recently, in another wave featuring In The Country and Splashgirl. Still, its scene has often seemed distanced from the American tradition that nevertheless resides at the core of many of these players. Enter saxophonist Hanna Paulsberg and Waltz for Lilli, which suggests that it's possible to revere that tradition and, at the same time, forge your own culture-rich identity. The twenty-something Paulsberg is already an alum of the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, most recently in collaboration with keyboardist Ståle Storløkken and psychedelic space-rock outfit Motorpsycho at the 2010 Molde Jazz Festival and the resulting The Death Defying Unicorn (Rune Grammofon, 2012). Despite Paulsen finding herself in a multiplicity of contexts, her allegiance to the jazz tradition is abundantly clear with Hanna Paulsberg Concept (HPC), also featuring three other recognition-worthy young Scandinavians. Waltz for Lilli is many things, but one of them is that it swings and when it swings, it swings hard. Over the course of six Paulsberg originals, HPC also demonstrates a strong allegiance to melody. The opening modal title track burns with feverish energy, thanks to the firm but open-ended anchor provided by bassist Trygve Waldemar Fiske and freewheeling drummer Hans Hulbækmo, but when it comes to soloing, Paulsberg favors careful choices over unfettered virtuosity. Combined with pianist Oscar Grönberg who blends McCoy Tyner-informed, block-chord accompaniment with sparer Nordic lyricism it suggests how John Coltrane might have sounded, had he opted for space and decay rather than sheets of sound. Paulsberg's attention to tone was inspired, no doubt, from antecedents like Garbarek and Tore Brunborg without sounding like either and gives her a unique ability to sear without speed.

Paulsberg's writing is deceptive; enticing, often with seemingly simple concepts, its layers unfold across repeated listens. "Potters Lullaby" starts with a simple percussion motif that becomes more complex when first Grönberg and then Fiske join in for a rhythmically contrary unison line; when Paulsberg enters, it's yet another simple idea that, interlocking with the rest of her band mates, turns into something far deeper. "Sang til Pastor Wang" begins as a spare piano/sax duet, a rubato tone poem setting the stage for the first of two bass solos that assert Fiske as far more than mere rhythm section partner, playing off Grönberg with the kind of profound empathy that normally comes from far more experience and longevity. It's no wonder HPC won the Young Nordic Jazz Competition at the 2011 Trondheim Jazz Festival. The other track to feature Fiske is the closing "Mufasa," an even darker tune that, in its choice to end in a whisper Paulsberg's tenor becoming increasingly breathy until that's all that's left closes what would have easily been included as a Best of 2012 "New Discovery." It may only be January, but Hanna Paulsberg Concept's auspicious debut already looks like a shoe-in for 2013's year-end list. ~ John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/waltz-for-lilli-hanna-paulsberg-ora-fonogram-review-by-john-kelman.php

Personnel: Hanna Paulsberg: saxophone; Trygve Waldemar Fiske: acoustic bass; Oscar Grönberg: piano; Hans Hulbækmo: drums.

Waltz for Lili

Friday, March 24, 2017

Hanna Paulsberg Concept - Eastern Smiles

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:35
Size: 91,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:59)  1. Eastern Smiles
(5:26)  2. Hemulen Pa Byn
(7:39)  3. Ayumi
(8:32)  4. A Hundred Years
(6:07)  5. Hotel Papa Charlie
(5:48)  6. Catalan Boy

Hanna Paulsberg's tenor saxophone voice is increasingly in demand for a wide variety of projects, from the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra to collaborations with Ellen Andrea Wang, Jon Balke, Andreas Ulvo, Erland Dahlen and veteran Knut Rissnaes. Yet her standing as a composer and leader of one of Norway's most outstanding young quartets has been firmly established with releases such as Waltz for Lili (Ora Fonogram, 2012) and Song for Josia (Ora Fonogram, 2014). Eastern Smiles, her third release, and first on Odin Records, continues the course established on her previous two releases, with six original compositions highlighting the dual melodic and rhythmic pulses that drive her music.  The explorative title track is built upon Paulsberg's mellifluous lines and Hans Hulbaekmo's continually scurrying rhythms over spare bass figures, though pianist Oscar Gronberg's angular, off-kilter improvisation steers the music momentarily into unexpected terrain. Paulsberg returns to impose her strong musical personality with a fine solo. A two-note piano mantra announces "Hermulen pa byn," a curiously schizoid track that flits back and forth between sunnily infectious groove and pockets of searching abstraction.  Even at the music's most angular, Hulbaekmo's polyrhythmic bustle seems to act as compass and engine room at the same time. 

The versatile drummer impressed with Moskus at 12 Points 2015 and Nena and the Butterfly Fish at Nutshell 2015, and plays with Atomic, amongst other bands. The hard-working rhythmic provocateur illuminates any context of which is part, and HPC's Eastern Smiles is no exception. Bassist Trygve Waldemar Fiske plots a far sparer course and this contrast between rhythmic industry and restraint is one of the key elements of HPC's sound. Fiske's warm, earthy tone is foregrounded on his unaccompanied intro to "A Hundred Years," his probing pulse going on to underpin gutsy, extended solos from Paulsberg and Gronberg, with Hulbaekmo all the while whipping up a devilish storm. Paulsberg is also an original balladeer; her lyrical ruminations that bookend "Hotel Papa Charlie," rather than define the tune, instead serve to frame sympathetic improvisations from Fiske and Gronberg of lingering beauty. The infectious calypso of "Catalan Boy" provides a joyous finale, its dancing rhythms and breezy melody proving utterly seductive. Hulbaekmo delivers a lively solo—only slightly more accentuated than his usual effervescent approach before Paulsberg restates the concluding head. Stylistically, Eastern Smiles falls into suit with HPC's previous recordings and a strong hand is certainly building, as witnessed in HPC's compelling performance at Vossa Jazz 2016. Paulsberg's musical evolution, for now, is all about polishing a diamond, but with this splendid quartet you suspect she still has more than a few aces up her sleeve. ~ Ian Patterson https://www.allaboutjazz.com/eastern-smiles-hanna-paulsberg-odin-records-review-by-ian-patterson.php

Personnel: Hanna Paulsberg: tenor saxophone; Hans Hulbaekemo: drums; Oscar Gronberg: piano; Trygve Waldemar Fiske: bass.

Eastern Smiles