release date: 15.11.2024 on Traumton Records
Out of this excellent collaboration, between legendary Swedish bassist Anders Jormin and German, Berlin-based musicians, guitarist Arne Jansen and saxophonist Uve Steinmetz, comes this extraordinary recording, which I am sure with time passing by, will become Iconic. Just listen to it and wait.
That these three musicians came together can only be described as a case of cosmic happenstance: On double bass we have Anders Jormin from Sweden, who is one of the most important bassists on the European jazz scene, with eight albums under his belt as bandleader of ECM, and an artistic CV jam-packed with tours and recordings with legends such as Elvin Jones, John Taylor, Albert Mangelsdorff, Joe Henderson, Lee Konitz and Kenny Wheeler. Berlin-based Arne Jansen, on guitar, has two “ECHO Jazz” awards to his name and has played with the Orchestra Baobab from Senegal as well as David Helbock, Sebastian Studnitzky and Jazzanova, and recently saw his duo recording with Nils Wülker climb to number 15 in the German pop charts. Saxophonist Uwe Steinmetz, who also lives in Berlin, has made a name for himself composing music for the NDR Big Band and the Fitzwilliam String Quartet, in addition to collaborating with the likes of Joe Maneri and Tord Gustavsen.
The German/Swedish trio made its first appearance in 2016 in Gothenburg Cathedral as part of a Nordic church music festival. The special connection between the three musicians was immediately apparent. A kind of rapport that you don’t often find in this form, and which also characterised the trio’s joint tour in the autumn of 2022 – and in particular the final concert in the Waldkirche (forest church) in Timmendorfer Strand on 22 October.
The album created from the live recording now bears the title “The Pilgrimage”, and for good reasons. Firstly, because it begins with “La Peregrinacion”, a pilgrimage song by Ariel Ramirez, the Argentinian composer of “Misa Criolla”. And secondly, because Jansen, Jormin and Steinmetz explore the origins of a universal human phenomenon in their pieces, which meander between jazz, classical music, and Nordic and non-European folklore. “Pilgrimages are a component of all the great religions in the world”, says bassist Jormin. “I think, as a musician, you aim to forge a connection to this deeper meaning. Ideally, you are a vessel in this respect, or a sounding board that resonates with the audience and your fellow musicians”, adds guitarist Jansen.
The fact that the trio succeeds so brilliantly in stimulating resonance within the listener during “The Pilgrimage” is partly due to the special nature of the compositions they play. Behind each piece lies a deeply personal story that reflects the cosmopolitan mindset of the three musicians. For the trio’s saxophonist Steinmetz, on whose initiative the trio was formed in 2016, this holds especially true. Steinmetz is a tireless traveller, who is constantly searching for links between sacral music and jazz, and whose studies have taken him all around the globe. His works include “The Promise”, based on a morning raga and inspired by a stay in India, and the ostinato-dancing “New Flower”. The latter was written by Steinmetz while he was teaching in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in 2008. His aim was to capture the feeling of optimism in a country that would unfortunately soon descend into civil unrest. “This piece reminds me just how important it is to celebrate the moment”, explains the composer, who, particularly in the live version, delivers some remarkably intense melodic lines on his soprano.
“He Who Counts the Stars”, written by Jansen, has its roots in Uzbekistan. Its ethereal, soaring narrative was inspired by the Ulugh Beg Observatory, built in the 15th century, which the guitarist visited during a concert tour to Samarkand. Further inspiration for the composition came from the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, whose musical explorations of the liturgy infuse the trio’s interpretation like a ray of spring sunshine filtering through a church’s stained-glass window. The soulfully gospelesque „Deep Wood” also grew from a special story, namely an unexpected visit to the Church of the Madonna d’Ongero. This place of pilgrimage in the woods above Lugano deeply touched Jansen as a fan of Hermann Hesse, whose novella “Klingsor’s Last Summer” is partially set there.
The pieces of the trio’s repertoire that were provided by the man on the bass bear witness to the vast experience that Anders Jormin was able to gain during his 50-year career in the company of artists such as Don Cherry, Bobo Stenson and Charles Lloyd. Jormin learnt the North Korean folk song “Red Flower” during a concert trip to Pyongyang, where a shy museum attendant sang it to him. „I try to ‘sing’ it on the bass”, says Jormin, modestly describing his interpretation of the song on “The Pilgrimage”, which – like the entire performance – is characterised by the phenomenal sound he creates with his bass. Jormin also has formative memories of Krzysztof Komeda’s “Sleep Safe And Warm”. He has regularly played this ballad with trumpeter Tomasz Stanko. At concerts in the Polish homeland of Komeda, who died far too young, the piece sparked veritable explosions of emotion in the audience.
“I would say that in my artistic endeavours I have always strived to create music that is spiritual. I want to dedicate my work to spirituality, warmth and humanity”, says Jormin. What better way to summarise the credo of this extraordinary trio?
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Release November 15, 2024
EAN/UPC: 705304472927
Traumton CD 4729-2 , LP 4729-1
Tracklist:
1 La Peregrinación
2 He Who Counts The Stars
3 The Promise
4 Procession
5 Deep Wood
6 The Red Flower
7 New Flower
8 March
9 Sleep Safe And Warm
10 Peace Of The Earth
Line up:
Arne Jansen: guitar
Anders Jormin: double bass
Uwe Steinmetz: alto & soprano saxophones