Sunna Gunnlaugs - Becoming

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:13
Size: 98,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:58) 1. Becoming
(6:39) 2. Suddenly Autumn
(4:21) 3. Where the Winds and Waters Call
(5:19) 4. Sound of Summer
(5:15) 5. The Heart May Race
(4:55) 6. Make the Jump
(5:32) 7. Nicotune
(5:11) 8. Becoming (alt take)

Raised on a small peninsula in Iceland and later educated in New York City, Sunna Gunnlaugs, could easily have followed a different musical path if it hadn't been for the gift of a Bill Evans record in her teens. That gift set her on a path that has led to Becoming, the fifth album Gunnlaugs has released with her trio, comprising fellow Icelandic bassist Thorgrimur Jonsson and drummer (and husband) Scott McLemore.

Gunnlaugs reached number two on the Canadian radio charts with her 2010 release, The Dream (Sunny Sky Records). Featuring seven of her own compositions and relying on the interdependence of her partners, built up over ten years of playing together, the album sits neatly between the classic and the improvisational routes common for piano trios. A little of the influence of Bill Evans can still be heard and some of her keyboard combinations may remind you of Kenny Barron.

The gentle title track opens the album with a slow repeating piano pattern as Gunnlaugs reveals her soft touch on the keyboard. Jónsson and McLemore get more involved and pick up the pace with some bluesy hints. "Suddenly Autumn" is a swinging up-tempo tune with a memorable piano melody. A bass solo leads into piano and bass interplay around the theme, followed by fine drumming from McLemore. Jónsson and McLemore both have freedom to solo in "Sound of Summer," whilst Gunnlaugs' piano improvisation is fast and fluid.

The melody arc on "Make the Jump" is slowly revealed as Gunnlaugs' searching piano darts in different directions. Jónsson and McLemore tease by driving the beat with contrasting structures. With a gentle piano lead-in and a great hook, the bluesy and atmospheric "Nicotune," has the trio working with great restraint before upping the intensity. The album ends with an alternate take on the title track.

Memorable melodies, creative compositions and interesting improvisations make this album open, appealing and accessible. The interplay between Gunnlaugs and her colleagues is subtle and cohesive throughout. Whoever bought her that Bill Evans record should be thanked as this album reveals more each time you press the play button, which is something you may find yourself doing frequently. By Neil Duggan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/becoming-sunna-gunnlaugs-sunny-sky

Personnel: Sunna Gunnlaugs: piano; Scott McLemore: drums; Thorgrimur Jonsson: bass, acoustic.

Becoming

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Sunna Gunnlaugs - Cielito Lindo

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:04
Size: 147,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:40)  1. Cielito Lindo
(5:05)  2. Compassion
(0:50)  3. Spin 8
(5:32)  4. Dry Cycle
(7:04)  5. Endastopp
(4:16)  6. Summertime
(1:43)  7. Spin 9
(5:01)  8. Workaround
(4:52)  9. Vetrarstef
(7:08) 10. Icelandic Blues
(3:24) 11. Tiltekt
(1:51) 12. Spin 11
(7:06) 13. All Agaze
(4:25) 14. Johnsburg, Illinois

This is the third consecutive album in the space of five years from Icelandic pianist Sunna Gunnlaugs featuring her trio with bassist Þorgrímur Jónsson and drummer Scott McLemore. It inhabits a similar aesthetic as their previous albums, which embraces the open of the Icelandic horizon but doesn’t ignore the blues. She continues her improvised “spins”; the interludes that have been woven through her albums since her last quartet release “The Dream” featuring Loren Stillman and Eivind Opsvik. All three members of contribute compositions and there are even pieces by Tom Waits and George Gershwin. https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/sunnagunnlaugs3

Personnel:  Sunna Gunnlaugs – piano;  Þorgrímur Jónsson – bass;  Scott McLemore - drums

Cielito Lindo

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Sunna Gunnlaugs - The Dream

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:38
Size: 118,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:42)  1. The Dream
(6:31)  2. Holding Ground
(1:25)  3. Spin 1
(7:33)  4. Vitjun
(2:11)  5. Tear (as in wear)
(7:05)  6. Bump
(1:02)  7. Spin 2
(6:23)  8. Tunnel Vision
(1:38)  9. Spin 3
(5:35) 10. Anima
(1:42) 11. Spin 4
(1:14) 12. Spin 5
(2:30) 13. Kom

Bridging the Brooklyn-Reykjavik jazz divide with European elegance and a fiery, New York drive. The Washington Post described her music as possessing "such timeless virtues as lyricism and grace... elegantly bridges soul- searching passages with uncluttered swing." Sunna Gunnlaugs reaffirms that assesment on her latest CD, "Long Pair Bond" which features fellow Icelander bassist Thorgrimur Jo´nsson and long-time cohort Scott McLemore on drums. It’s her first trio album since her debut in 1997, and now a more mature, more experienced Gunnlaugs presents this music in an unhurried, contemplative fashion. Ironically, it is the spaces she leaves that creates a sense of urgency throughout the recording.

Equally influenced by such American pianists as Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, and Scandinavians like Bobo Stenson and Jon Balke, Sunna has found a way to make music to which people on both sides of the Atlantic can relate. Her own charming brand of romantic lyricism soaring over a driving American rhythm section appeals to jazzers and non-jazzers alike. As a child growing up on a small peninsula called Seltjarnarnes not far from Reykjavik she began taking lessons on the organ at the urging of her mother. "The idea of playing the piano didn't appeal to me as a kid. I associated it with classical pianists who seemed to have no fun. But on the organ you could play anything, the Beatles, polkas, Strauss and that seemed like more fun." By her teens, having realized that you could in fact play a variety of music on the piano, it was the gift of a Bill Evans trio record (appropriately named "You're Gonna Hear From Me") that sold her on modern jazz. In 1993 she made her way to the US as a student at William Paterson College and began to hone her own distinct musical voice both as an improvisor and a composer while immersing herself in the standards and studying the masters. Just a 15 minute drive from Manhattan, inspiration was not hard to find. "Suddenly being able to go to the Village Vanguard or Bradley's any night of the week and hear amazing pianists was an incredible experience. It was such a stimulating environment," and one that Gunnlaugs had no intention of leaving after graduating in 1996. She moved to Brooklyn and made her debut recording "Far Far Away" with her trio: bassist Dan Fabricatore and drummer (and future husband), Scott McLemore. In New York her focus shifted decidedly to performing her own music. She began appearing at listening rooms such as Cornelia Street Cafe and the Knitting Factory, and rave reviews followed. Gunnlaugs was proclaimed an "impressive newcomer" by the Village Voice. However, the music she was writing began to need more than just a trio. "I had been listening a lot to the Keith Jarrett quartet and Jan Garabrek with Bobo Stenson and the sound of the quartet was so appealing to me." She called upon saxophonist Tony Malaby and bassist Drew Gress. "I was familiar with Tony from his own bands and was stunned by how expressive he was. Drew, I knew from his work with Fred Hersch and Dave Douglas. He always added such a bounce to my tunes, while keeping it really open." In 1999, along with McLemore, the quartet recorded "Mindful" and, with time left over on the same day, they recorded "Songs from Iceland."http://www.sunnagunnlaugs.com/biography.htm

Personnel:  Sunna Gunnlaugs – piano;  Loren Stillman - alto saxophone;  Eivind Opsvik – bass;  Scott McLemore - drums

The Dream

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Sunna Gunnlaugs - Long Pair Bond

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:29
Size: 114,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:32)  1. Long Pair Bond
(6:00)  2. Thema
(4:25)  3. Autumnalia
(5:21)  4. Elsabella
(5:35)  5. Crab Canon
(5:31)  6. Fyrir Brynhildi
(5:02)  7. Safe from the World
(4:20)  8. Diamonds on the Inside
(5:03)  9. Not What But How
(4:35) 10. Vicious World

With Long Pair Bond, Sunna Gunnlaugs returns to the piano trio format last heard on Far Far Away. Since that 1997 self-titled debut the only album to use her tongue-twisting full name, Gunnlaugsdóttir the Icelandic pianist has, in addition to contracting her name to the eminently more memorable Gunnlaugs, recorded almost exclusively with quartets, largely populated with American (or, at least, American-resident) musicians met after moving to the United States in 1993 to study at William Paterson College. Long Pair Bond's return to trio format is, however, just one of a number of significant changes afoot since Gunnlaugs released The Dream (Self Produced) in 2010. Returning to Iceland, Gunnlaugs still collaborates with husband/drummer Scott McLemore the only constant across all seven of her recordings including 2003's fiery Live in Europe (Sunny Sky) but shifts to local talent for the bass chair. Þorgrímur "Toggi" Jónsson may be a lesser-known entity when compared to past bassists including Drew Gress and Eivind Opsvik, but based on his performance here he's clearly someone to watch, with his flexible blend of firm-planted anchor and inventive melodic foil. On his sole compositional contribution, the folkloric "Fyrir Brynhildi" which introduces a hint of optimism at the end of each pass with a brief major chord, before returning to its melancholic, minor tonal center his warm-toned pizzicato drives both the melody and a solo that matches Gunnlaugs' own lyrical bent, though he proves equally capable of more angular playing on the pianist's harmonically oblique "Thema."

Long Pair Bond also signals a shift away from more complex compositional constructs, though Gunnlaugs still favors mixing up the meters, twisting her own "Autumnal," ever-so-slightly through occasional dropped beats. McLemore's three contributions lean more to the straightforward, with both "Elsabella" and the more up-tempo "Not What But How" in waltz-time, but even when he resorts to irregular time signatures, as he does on "Safe From the World," it never distracts from the song's gentle, easy-on-the-ears nature. Gunnluags' touchstones are unmistakable, with hints of Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans, but filtered through her unmistakable allegiance to Swedish pianist Bobo Stenson's classically informed and harmonically skewed melodism. But the barely forty-something pianist also looks beyond these touchstones for inspiration, delivering a relatively straightforward version of alt-rock singer/songwriter Ben Harper's "Diamonds on the Inside" and a less faithful look at Rufus Wainwright's "Vicious World," which may challenge even the biggest meter-o-phile to "find the one," but remains paradoxically delicate and singable. Throughout, McLemore's touch is light not unlike Norwegian drummer Jarle Vespestad's work with pianist Tord Gustavsen, employing a variety of sticks for textural effect while Gunnlaug's is firm yet pliant, moving from fragile vulnerability to robust power on her opening title track. Gunnlaugs has always been about musical depth that doesn't sacrifice inherent accessibility, but by trimming back to a trio, she's delivered one of her most approachable albums yet, where there's no shortage of challenge but that's largely left to the players. For everyone else, Long Pair Bond's 50 minutes pass by with ease, but not without leaving a lasting impression. 

~ John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/long-pair-bond-sunna-gunnlaugs-sunny-sky-review-by-john-kelman.php
 

Personnel: Sunna Gunnlaugs: piano; Þorgrímur Jónsson: bass; Scott McLemore: drums.

Long Pair Bond

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Sunna Gunnlaugs - Distilled

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:30
Size: 128,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:09)  1. Momento
(5:54)  2. Distilled
(3:13)  3. Switcheroo
(3:40)  4. Smiling Face
(6:36)  5. Gallop
(1:15)  6. Spin 6
(4:30)  7. The New Now
(7:14)  8. 24H Trip
(6:27)  9. Things You Should Know
(3:19) 10. From Time to Time
(5:22) 11. Opposite Side
(1:45) 12. Spin 7

It is tempting to connect a musical aesthetic with a particular place. In fact, the whole idea of national music relies on the concept of an intrinsic national spirit, which creates an original musical expression. The only problem with a concept like national music is that it tends to pigeonhole musicians and create prejudice rather than adventurousness.  Then it is great to have an artist like Icelandic pianist Sunna Gunnlaugs, who is good at turning things around. It wouldn't be far off the mark to see her as a kind of musical trickster, who refuses to be placed within a certain sound or tradition. She is aware of her Icelandic roots and has used the country's musical legacy on Songs from Iceland (Sunny Sky, 2009), but the tranquil folk melodies of Iceland is balanced by an elegant modernistic exploration of time signatures and an infectious swing. This musical blend of old and new also comes to the fore on Distilled, which finds Gunnlaugs in the congenial company of drummer Scott McLemore and bassist Thorgrimur Jonsson.  

Whether they swing elegantly on "Momento," dive deep into balladic nostalgia on the title track or explore delicate textures on the brief haiku-like "spin 7," there's a sense of an organic meeting between tradition and modernism or what might be called an accessible experimentalism. Like the rest of the trio, Gunnlaugs seems to have the whole history of jazz at her fingertips and Distilled is the sweeping sound of a rich musical life that has been distilled into art, and like the best musical offerings, the album transgresses conventional boundaries, including those of geography. ~ Jakob Baekgaard https://www.allaboutjazz.com/distilled-sunna-gunnlaugs-sunny-sky-review-by-jakob-baekgaard.php
 

Personnel: Sunna Gunnlaugs: piano; Þorgrímur Jónsson: bass; Scott Mclemore: drums.

Distilled

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