Sebastian Sternal - Home

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:52
Size: 140,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:24)  1. I Am the Ocean
(3:28)  2. Go
(3:52)  3. Sand
(5:16)  4. Home
(2:32)  5. Gravity
(5:37)  6. Winter
(5:15)  7. Alias
(7:02)  8. All of You
(6:25)  9. Fade Away
(4:38) 10. Solita
(3:37) 11. Talking Politics
(4:44) 12. Baloo Boo Boo
(4:57) 13. Twin Song

Sebastian Sternal should be well recognised on these pages as we reviewed his both Echo Jazz wining orchestral projects here as well as a calm and charming duo entitled Canada or quartet recording with his friend Frederick Koster. Here he continues to explore his fascination in jazz piano trio classic approach. And to make it even more exiting both of his partners are top piano trios members. Grenadier is a bass pillar of Brad Meldhau’s group when Burgwinkel is an extremely mighty drum-force  of the Pablo Held Trio, among the others. As should be expected then those three are perfectly merged in together here and they are all feeling easy like a fish in a water. From an opening I am the Ocean intro’s however it becomes clear that it is not going to be another modal piano game. Sternal’s approach gains vastly from his symphonic landscapes and this path attracts his colleagues in crime vastly with their capability to follow whatever comes. Go is a super modern piece with fascinating piano fingering coming more from the classical music than from choppy or beefy rich jazz school represented by others. Accordingly following bass riffs as well as spacious drumming are up to tempo. Additionally rhythmic landscapes set by drummer are the quality of its own. 

Coming after Sand slows almost into the border of de-fragmentation. It’s almost like a piano tune anatomy lesson with the surgeons precision of drum bits lines precise like a scalpel’s cuts with the firm grip of the bass catch. Title piece takes my imagination from the piano trio territory to the landscape I remember from Pat Matheny’s Group with Sternal Burgwinkel conversation bringing back memories of  dialogues between Lyle Mays and Paul Wertigo from his 70’s super-group. Gravity comes as a more dance piece, but groovy passages that Sternal plays here holds on groups voice strongly. Following Winter gives more opened space for Larry to shine and his bass walk is here both, lyrical and incredibly charming. Jonas is a drummer that every bass-man is dreaming about. Sound-scapes he creates around the bass lines as well the ground prepared under the piano lines are striking like thunder. This is probably he most elegiac piece, reminding me with its intensity cooperation between Tord Gustavsen and Mat Eilertsen. Allias falls into similar territory but bass had been given much more narrative capacity here, which had been very well used indeed. All of You , the only standard on this CD tributes its author obviously but as it comes from musicians like those here we are not getting usual approach based on the choral quotes. Pretty much opposite. Sternal with friends are acting here like psychologists researching the subject, dragging pieces of memories from your head, touching moments and referring to this secret associations which All of Us are holding inside of our most private inner space. It comes in a similar way as the Masabumi Kikuchi’s trio used to build up momentum. Quote with anti-quote, hold the line with minimalist touch but an incredible emotional tension. I could continue finding connections and revealing paths for you another page but it would be sadistic to take all this pleasure out of you. Instead I am leaving it here as it is. Needless to say that what we are finding on this recording is a real treasure chest. Full of absolute erudition and understanding of what happened in the jazz and classical piano world during the last hundred years. Cherry picking from this Master Cake is a real debauchery for everyone who loves to rob Sweet- shops. http://jazzpress.gpoint-audio.com/2017/10/sebastian-sternal-home-feat-larry-grenadier-jonas-burgwinkel-realised-31stof-march-2017-label-traumton-records-jazz/

Personnel:  Piano – Sebastian Sternal; Bass – Larry Grenadier; Drums – Jonas Burgwinkel

Home

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Sebastian Sternal - Canada

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:11
Size: 101,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:12)  1. Canada
(4:23)  2. Calgary
(4:44)  3. Hologram
(5:14)  4. Lullaby
(4:04)  5. Into the Wild
(5:32)  6. For Jan
(3:01)  7. Prayer
(6:41)  8. Mississippi
(3:22)  9. Hunting
(3:54) 10. A Case of You

What a pleasure it is to see another outcome coming from those two well known to me musicians ,long time friends and collaborators. Both of them are also most fresh and well recognised personalties on the German music scene. This set up however is much different that any other before. First of all it is the 1st duo session those two recorded together. Secondly also conceptually,  in regard to the fact it was registered in Canada, some touch of melancholy had been in-printed into this project. Set contains 10 tracks, eight of which are artists’ originals and remaining two are tributes to artists they both admire and cover music written by them First is Kenny Wheeler (For Jan). Furthermore Joni Mitchel (A case of You). Worm and melancholic trumpeter’s tone shows long time admiration for his master and these inspirations remain present in his music today. Joni, equally demands similar attention from anyone who values highly poetic virtues in her songs lyrics. In fact it all took place just a jump from where she was born and grown. In addition both artists learnt making a trip there, that she remains completely unknown and forgotten. That experience significantly added ingredients to the touch of an isolation that this music possess. Strike of the nature’s vastness in its unrestricted glory makes a main motive of this sensual dialogue. Cover picture equally speaks for itself. 

One can imagine the feeling of an open space. The scale of the mountains around. And the quietness which surrounds you once you leave our noisy civilisation with its constant urban traffic. Even the way that music sounds in an open air and fades undisturbed. That describes the best to me the level of concentration there. Even without pointing particular tunes. There is no rush. The notes are all well respected and there is a lot of silence and reverie. Tune like Calgary, which I remember from Sternal’s Symphonic Society I reviewed for you earlier this year have completely different feeling. I can sense the higher level of meditation in the conversation with trumpeter. There is no tension at all. Every single note comes so enforced that an overall balance of the piece appears completely different. They both communicate really close here and are listening to each other carefully. Sternal is exquisite accompanier, and he puts wonderful sonic carpentry under trumpeters invocations. On the other side the way Koster sounds here is mesmerizing too. He controls his expression beautifully and sounds fully and reach all the time, with the same blossom on the long notes as well as on the edgy blasts. Just listen to his trumpet on wonderful Lullaby to understand what I mean. Pieces like Into the Wild and Prayer have an incredible emotional density and inevitable fire-power I would say. I simply can not stop listening to them all over again. There must be some therapeutic properties spell into this music and it makes me immediately feeling great. http://jazzpress.gpoint-audio.com/2015/07/frederik-koster-sebastian-sternal-canada-realised-27th-november-2015-label-traumton/

Personnel:  Sebastian Sternal - piano; Frederik Köster - flugelhorn

Canada

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