JULIA HÜLSMANN - Following Different Paths & Opening New Doors
With recent appearances at this years Cambridge Jazz Festival and the EFG London Jazz Festival, UK audiences have had the opportunity to hear German pianist Julia Hülsmann's trio first hand playing music from her remarkable new album, Not Far From Here released on ECM Records. Augmenting her longstanding trio with tenor saxophonist, Uli Kempendorff has been an inspired choice, and the latest album is brimful of music that is full of energy, vitality, and above all that innate sense of musical unity that is rapidly becoming a trademark of the pianist's oeuvre.
The trio have been in existence in their present incarnation for some seventeen years and this extremely close working relationship has not only been the source of much exquisite music but has also continued to deepen and develop still further with each new recording. Over the last decade or so the trio have made a succession of albums for Manfred Eicher's ECM label that have seen the music broaden and delve deeper into the performance process from composition to execution of the the written material, to an understanding within the group that is truly astonishing. Indeed, of the trio Julia says "I met Marc, our bass player, when I studied Jazz Piano in Berlin in 1991. I started working with him in a trio in 1997. For the recording of the CD Scattering Poems Heinrich Köbberlingjoined the band on drums. I’m grateful that we are still working together. We traveled a lot, recorded 10 albums together, I would say we really know each other and we are friends. Musically we try to find different paths new doors; we don’t want to stand still, we want to go on."
From their debut album for ECM, The End Of A Summer, in 2008 and the follow up Imprint some three years later, it was apparent that this was an important new group. When the logical step seemed for the pianist to follow this further, she confounded expectations by expanding to a quartet featuring trumpeter Tom Arthurs on the superb In Full View (2013)' and adding a further dimension with the additional voice of Theo Bleckmann for A Clear Midnight (2015) in which the augmented group took the music of Kurt Weill to an entirely new level. The trio format returned for the 2017 release, Sooner And Later, which drew it's inspiration from the far flung destinations around the globe that the group had played in. These compositions brought another dimension to the trio's music, but remarkably the lasting impression is of how the three musicians now react together when performing. An almost telepathic communication that has been built on their work together, also drawing influences from the quartet and quintet recordings, and assimilating this into the group sound.
The trio have been in existence in their present incarnation for some seventeen years and this extremely close working relationship has not only been the source of much exquisite music but has also continued to deepen and develop still further with each new recording. Over the last decade or so the trio have made a succession of albums for Manfred Eicher's ECM label that have seen the music broaden and delve deeper into the performance process from composition to execution of the the written material, to an understanding within the group that is truly astonishing. Indeed, of the trio Julia says "I met Marc, our bass player, when I studied Jazz Piano in Berlin in 1991. I started working with him in a trio in 1997. For the recording of the CD Scattering Poems Heinrich Köbberlingjoined the band on drums. I’m grateful that we are still working together. We traveled a lot, recorded 10 albums together, I would say we really know each other and we are friends. Musically we try to find different paths new doors; we don’t want to stand still, we want to go on."
From their debut album for ECM, The End Of A Summer, in 2008 and the follow up Imprint some three years later, it was apparent that this was an important new group. When the logical step seemed for the pianist to follow this further, she confounded expectations by expanding to a quartet featuring trumpeter Tom Arthurs on the superb In Full View (2013)' and adding a further dimension with the additional voice of Theo Bleckmann for A Clear Midnight (2015) in which the augmented group took the music of Kurt Weill to an entirely new level. The trio format returned for the 2017 release, Sooner And Later, which drew it's inspiration from the far flung destinations around the globe that the group had played in. These compositions brought another dimension to the trio's music, but remarkably the lasting impression is of how the three musicians now react together when performing. An almost telepathic communication that has been built on their work together, also drawing influences from the quartet and quintet recordings, and assimilating this into the group sound.
In what is now becoming a restless desire of discovery, the pianist once again seeks to expand the group, and her latest album, Not Far From Here introduces Uli Kempendorff's tenor saxophone to the mix. As Julia explained to me prior to her Cambridge Jazz and EFG London Jazz Festival appearances, "The trio always worked with guests, it’s a nice way to add something new. This time I wanted to have a different sound, a new texture, so we were looking for a saxophone player. We all know Uli for a long time, played with him in different projects. Now was the right time to ask him And it feels like he is not a guest, we will go on working with him." After a moment to reflect she add, "I guess it’s not easy to join a group that is so close. We rehearse a lot to find different ways to communicate, to understand how we react and how we can sound. Traveling as a band also helps to get close.We talk a lot and laugh a lot. This is also part of the music later and very important to me."
One of the core strengths of the trio is how democracy plays such as large part in the way they organise the group and repertoire, with Hulsmann never one to pursue an autocratic path. "We rehearse and everybody brings in music. During working on the tunes we get a feeling for the repertoire and what’s working (and what isn’t) and also how the dramaturgy of an album and also a concert could be", Julia says simply, adding "Also, with one more instrument we have a lot more options. There are tunes we couldn’t play as a trio because something would be missing. We all are composing, everybody has a different approach for that."
It is this open approach that paradoxically gives the group a core sound of its own, yet also retains a mercurial and mysterious element in that the repertoire never remains static or predictable. This is evident in two contrasting versions of 'This Is Not America' by David Bowie, that was co-written by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays for the film, The Falcon and the Snowman, one for the quartet and reprised as a solo piano piece to close the new album. "'This is not America' is a tune I really love", enthuses the pianist. "That’s why I suggested it. When we worked on my arrangement of it we talked about the political theme in it and realized it’s in there as well. Uli’s solo is a very emotional and direct statement. The second version, solo piano, is a very soft and introverted but as intense as the quartet version for me. Two different ways of saying the same maybe."
One of the core strengths of the trio is how democracy plays such as large part in the way they organise the group and repertoire, with Hulsmann never one to pursue an autocratic path. "We rehearse and everybody brings in music. During working on the tunes we get a feeling for the repertoire and what’s working (and what isn’t) and also how the dramaturgy of an album and also a concert could be", Julia says simply, adding "Also, with one more instrument we have a lot more options. There are tunes we couldn’t play as a trio because something would be missing. We all are composing, everybody has a different approach for that."
It is this open approach that paradoxically gives the group a core sound of its own, yet also retains a mercurial and mysterious element in that the repertoire never remains static or predictable. This is evident in two contrasting versions of 'This Is Not America' by David Bowie, that was co-written by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays for the film, The Falcon and the Snowman, one for the quartet and reprised as a solo piano piece to close the new album. "'This is not America' is a tune I really love", enthuses the pianist. "That’s why I suggested it. When we worked on my arrangement of it we talked about the political theme in it and realized it’s in there as well. Uli’s solo is a very emotional and direct statement. The second version, solo piano, is a very soft and introverted but as intense as the quartet version for me. Two different ways of saying the same maybe."
Different ways indeed seems to sum up the career to date of this remarkable pianist. Whether working within the tried and tested piano trio or augmenting the group with new voices, she is steadily building a discography of considerable substance. So how did she become interested in music, and jazz in particular? "Music was important in my family, says Julia. "We had a piano, my parents both played the piano, but not as professionals. I started to play when I was 11 years old. My father had jazz LPs but of course also many classical records. When I was 15 I stopped the classical piano lessons. Later I wanted to learn pop piano but there was no teacher around so I went to a jazz teacher. He was great, he transcribed solos for me, like Louis Armstrong or Erroll Garner, and I played them with the recordings. A wonderful way to learn. He gave me a mixed tape with jazz recordings and there was a song with Bill Evans and Jim Hall. I was hooked!" Continuing her studies Hülsmann moved to Berlin and enrolled at the University of the Arts at the beginning of the nineties, also joining the German Youth Jazz Orchestra (BuJazzO). During this time her listening and influences continued to broaden as Julia recalls, "There are many of course. Don Grolnick is really important as a pianist and composer. His music is always so surprising and creative. Unusual melodies and harmonies. John Taylor is also a very important influence, he was a wonderful player and composer. But of course there are more: Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett…."
The briefest exploration of the pianist's discography will not give any direct point of reference to any of the musicians above, but instead show a fully mature artist that has absorbed and processed some of the jazz greats in a style that is becoming one of the most important voices in contemporary music. When it comes the future, she simply replies, "We’ll see. First we are on tour….but it fells like we will go on working as a quartet. But I have quite a few projects I’m working on and touring with. It won’t get boring."
The briefest exploration of the pianist's discography will not give any direct point of reference to any of the musicians above, but instead show a fully mature artist that has absorbed and processed some of the jazz greats in a style that is becoming one of the most important voices in contemporary music. When it comes the future, she simply replies, "We’ll see. First we are on tour….but it fells like we will go on working as a quartet. But I have quite a few projects I’m working on and touring with. It won’t get boring."
For more information visit www.ecmrecords.com
|
Click on the album cover to read our review
|
