EMIL DE WAAL - Vente
April Records: APR087CD
Emil de Waal: drums, percussion; Elith ‘Nulle’ Nkjaer: clarinet; Dan Hemmer: organ; Gustaf Ljunggren: electric guitar, lap steel guitar, mandola, celeste, marimba, clarinet
Produced June 2020 by Thomas Vang at The Village Recording (except ‘Such Sweet Thunder’, recorded in 2018, live, by Dan Hemmer at Ingolfs Kaffebar Copenhagen).
The set opens with a clarinet duet on that stalwart of the trad-jazz scene, ‘Peg o’ my heart’, with minimal organ accompaniment and shuffling, brushed drum patterns, shifting into an organ solo that simply reprises the melody with a few burlesque flourishes. That the playing involves musician well-known for his clarinet playing with one who is better known as a guitarist adds interest to the playing, but what really grips the listening is how heartfelt the playing here. This is carried forward to the Charlie Haden song ‘First Song (for Ruth)’ where the gentle ballad gives space for clarinet, guitar, and organ to play meditative solos. The tempo lifts on the other cover versions, ‘Music to watch girls by’ and ‘Such sweet thunder’ (the latter recorded live). Between the bookends of covers, the band play compositions from Nkjaer or Ljunggren. Of these, ‘Ventemedister’ (literally ‘waiting sausage’…) has a rolling, off-centre beat and some lovely string playing from the range of instruments at Ljunggren’s disposal, inviting clarinet to find spaces in which to swoop and follow the rhythm. The two Nkjaer compositions return to old-school styles, one a polka of sorts and the other a reworking of a theme from a 1980s tv show. That he can compose is so different styles is, perhaps, not a surprise given that, in his career, he has not only been a cornerstone of Danish jazz but also actor and writer. Not in his 80s he continues to show his younger bandmates how to find sensitivity and compassion in each note he plays. A very different band appears on the Ljunggren pieces – both of which carry a hint of the country that inspired the pieces (China and Norway respectively) but also carry a hint of country music in the twang of the guitar in their waltz rhythms. On the second of these, ‘Bibliotekvals’, Nkjaer plays a clarinet solo on heartbreaking beauty over gentle organ patterns. As a recording that mixes a variety of styles and that has immersed its playing in the eras of jazz in which the clarinet was king, this is a group that plays nuanced versions of the tradition. In the ways in which they share organ and guitar solos with the clarinet, they also have a contemporary sound redolent of ‘americana’.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
April Records: APR087CD
Emil de Waal: drums, percussion; Elith ‘Nulle’ Nkjaer: clarinet; Dan Hemmer: organ; Gustaf Ljunggren: electric guitar, lap steel guitar, mandola, celeste, marimba, clarinet
Produced June 2020 by Thomas Vang at The Village Recording (except ‘Such Sweet Thunder’, recorded in 2018, live, by Dan Hemmer at Ingolfs Kaffebar Copenhagen).
The set opens with a clarinet duet on that stalwart of the trad-jazz scene, ‘Peg o’ my heart’, with minimal organ accompaniment and shuffling, brushed drum patterns, shifting into an organ solo that simply reprises the melody with a few burlesque flourishes. That the playing involves musician well-known for his clarinet playing with one who is better known as a guitarist adds interest to the playing, but what really grips the listening is how heartfelt the playing here. This is carried forward to the Charlie Haden song ‘First Song (for Ruth)’ where the gentle ballad gives space for clarinet, guitar, and organ to play meditative solos. The tempo lifts on the other cover versions, ‘Music to watch girls by’ and ‘Such sweet thunder’ (the latter recorded live). Between the bookends of covers, the band play compositions from Nkjaer or Ljunggren. Of these, ‘Ventemedister’ (literally ‘waiting sausage’…) has a rolling, off-centre beat and some lovely string playing from the range of instruments at Ljunggren’s disposal, inviting clarinet to find spaces in which to swoop and follow the rhythm. The two Nkjaer compositions return to old-school styles, one a polka of sorts and the other a reworking of a theme from a 1980s tv show. That he can compose is so different styles is, perhaps, not a surprise given that, in his career, he has not only been a cornerstone of Danish jazz but also actor and writer. Not in his 80s he continues to show his younger bandmates how to find sensitivity and compassion in each note he plays. A very different band appears on the Ljunggren pieces – both of which carry a hint of the country that inspired the pieces (China and Norway respectively) but also carry a hint of country music in the twang of the guitar in their waltz rhythms. On the second of these, ‘Bibliotekvals’, Nkjaer plays a clarinet solo on heartbreaking beauty over gentle organ patterns. As a recording that mixes a variety of styles and that has immersed its playing in the eras of jazz in which the clarinet was king, this is a group that plays nuanced versions of the tradition. In the ways in which they share organ and guitar solos with the clarinet, they also have a contemporary sound redolent of ‘americana’.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
