Sooner and Later

 
Sooner and Later cover
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Julia Hülsmann Trio
Sooner and Later

[ ECM / CD ]

Release Date: Friday 24 March 2017

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Berlin-based pianist Julia Hülsmann returns to the trio format for Sooner And Later, an album which distils the experience of journeys to distant destinations. In the last couple of years Hülsmann, bassist Marc Muellbauer and drummer Heinrich Köbberling have taken their music around the world, from Europe to the US, Canada, Peru, Central Asia and China, "where something special developed. It helped to open up new sonic territory for us". The Central-Asian weeks find their most explicit echo in the form of "Biz Joluktuk", a tune the band heard in performance from a 12 year old violinist in Kyrgyzstan and which was later re-harmonized by Julia. Once again all three members of the trio have contributed compositions to the album. The title of Hülsmann's "Thatpujai" is an anagram of "Jutta Hipp", and its theme is comprised of phrases from the late German jazz pianist's solos. The program is rounded out by a cover of Radiohead's "All I Need" which, like the Hülsmann-penned tracks "J.J.", "Soon" or "Mond" with their sometimes almost clubby grooves, emphasizes the subtle rhythmic aspects of the trio's music. Sooner And Later was recorded in September 2016 in Oslo's Rainbow Studio, and produced by Manfred Eicher.

"Sooner And Later is an album that grows in appeal with repeated listening. The trio masters interplay and while that dynamic takes precedence over solo time, there are numerous opportunities to appreciate each of the players individually. The quieter moments are warm and enveloping, each with a distinct personality. Where the trio displays their more energetic side, they show a brilliance for creating complex and highly engaging melodies. Sooner And Later is a significant achievement for a trio that had set a high bar, long ago." All About Jazz

"The band consistently speak with one voice (she and bassist Marc Muellbauer often drop in and out of unison passages), and the coalescing conversation of From Afar epitomises that in its brief piano motifs, answering double bass, and slowly gelling harmonies. Hülsmann's meditative dynamism resonates through Thatpujai (formed of solo phrases by the late German jazz pianist Jutta Hipp); drummer Heinrich Köbberling's You & You becomes almost Jarrett-like; the Kyrgyzstan folk tune Biz Joluktuk is classically delicate; JJ is relaxed and boppish, and Radiohead's All I Need suggests Hülsmann has listened to Brad Mehldau's investigations of the same source. It's a quietly classy and vivacious set." The Guardian

Tracks:

From Afar
Thatpujai
You and You
Biz Joluktuk
All I Need
The Poet (For Ali)
Offen
J.J.
Soon
Later
Der Mond

Watch a preview of the album on Youtube