SINNE EEG & THOMAS FONNESBAEK - Staying In Touch
Stunt: stucd21072
Sinne Eeg: vocals; Thomas Fonnesbaek: double bass
Recorded by 2020 and 2021 by Boe Larsen at Millfactory Studios, Copenhagen.
This is not the first time that Eeg and Fonnebaek have recorded together (their eponymous 2015 album was very well received). In the interim, Eeg has continued to record with Big Bands (and scoop awards) and Fonnesbaek has continued to record across the globe. His album, ‘Synesthesia Music’ with Justin Kauflin is a particular favourite of mine (celebrating Fonnesbaek’s ability to ‘see’ sounds as colours). We’re used to vocalists in duets with chordal instruments like piano or guitar, but the idea of singing with only with the rhythm section is still quite daring – and when you drop the drums and only have the bass it is even more risky. Pairing vocals with bass requires confidence in both musicians (in themselves and their partner) to create the space and support that each needs to maintain the rhythm and build the melody. The album has three tunes from Eeg and / or Fonnesbaek (two of these with subtle string accompaniment) and eight covers. Not surprisingly perhaps, they close the set with ‘The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines’ – which, of course, was originally on Joni Mitchell’s ‘Mingus’ album and you’d be pretty brave to follow Mitchell and Mingus. And yet, the version here is every bit as amusing, whimsical, tuneful, rhythmic and exciting. A wonderful example of how this duet works is their rendition of the well-known ‘Take Five’ (track 4), in which Fonnesbaek’s bass not only keeps the steady 5/4 of the piece but also embellishes this through runs and trills of his own, and Eeg imbues the tune with a richness that other versions of the tune often fail to find. The way in which Fonnesbaek’s frenetic bass runs pulses ‘Just of those things’ (track 8) and the way in which Eeg’s singing sits just a little behind this shows how their approach to making music creates a delicious tension between rhythm and melody. Their version of the Beatles’ ‘Long and winding road’ (track 6) has a mournful, wistfulness that both voice and bass revel in. Trying to figure out what makes the album so captivating (when you’re only listening to a voice and a bass) has led me to conclude that it is not only the expertise of both artists (which is, of course, superb) but also the ways in which they are so clearly on the same wavelength of how a tune twists and turns and how the emotions in the lyrics can be wrung to maximum effect. In Berlin’s ‘How deep is the ocean’ (track 7), Eeg switches from words to scat singing and demonstrates a skill, which I thought had been lost in modern singers, to swing the melody while also hinting at the emotional shifts that the song’s lyrics imply. In the liner notes, the lyrics for the opening track, ‘Spring Waltz’, begin with ‘Where you lead, I’ll follow / I don’t know where we are bound…’ and this is neatly captures the intimacy of the duets and the surprises that they can wring from even the most familiar songs.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Stunt: stucd21072
Sinne Eeg: vocals; Thomas Fonnesbaek: double bass
Recorded by 2020 and 2021 by Boe Larsen at Millfactory Studios, Copenhagen.
This is not the first time that Eeg and Fonnebaek have recorded together (their eponymous 2015 album was very well received). In the interim, Eeg has continued to record with Big Bands (and scoop awards) and Fonnesbaek has continued to record across the globe. His album, ‘Synesthesia Music’ with Justin Kauflin is a particular favourite of mine (celebrating Fonnesbaek’s ability to ‘see’ sounds as colours). We’re used to vocalists in duets with chordal instruments like piano or guitar, but the idea of singing with only with the rhythm section is still quite daring – and when you drop the drums and only have the bass it is even more risky. Pairing vocals with bass requires confidence in both musicians (in themselves and their partner) to create the space and support that each needs to maintain the rhythm and build the melody. The album has three tunes from Eeg and / or Fonnesbaek (two of these with subtle string accompaniment) and eight covers. Not surprisingly perhaps, they close the set with ‘The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines’ – which, of course, was originally on Joni Mitchell’s ‘Mingus’ album and you’d be pretty brave to follow Mitchell and Mingus. And yet, the version here is every bit as amusing, whimsical, tuneful, rhythmic and exciting. A wonderful example of how this duet works is their rendition of the well-known ‘Take Five’ (track 4), in which Fonnesbaek’s bass not only keeps the steady 5/4 of the piece but also embellishes this through runs and trills of his own, and Eeg imbues the tune with a richness that other versions of the tune often fail to find. The way in which Fonnesbaek’s frenetic bass runs pulses ‘Just of those things’ (track 8) and the way in which Eeg’s singing sits just a little behind this shows how their approach to making music creates a delicious tension between rhythm and melody. Their version of the Beatles’ ‘Long and winding road’ (track 6) has a mournful, wistfulness that both voice and bass revel in. Trying to figure out what makes the album so captivating (when you’re only listening to a voice and a bass) has led me to conclude that it is not only the expertise of both artists (which is, of course, superb) but also the ways in which they are so clearly on the same wavelength of how a tune twists and turns and how the emotions in the lyrics can be wrung to maximum effect. In Berlin’s ‘How deep is the ocean’ (track 7), Eeg switches from words to scat singing and demonstrates a skill, which I thought had been lost in modern singers, to swing the melody while also hinting at the emotional shifts that the song’s lyrics imply. In the liner notes, the lyrics for the opening track, ‘Spring Waltz’, begin with ‘Where you lead, I’ll follow / I don’t know where we are bound…’ and this is neatly captures the intimacy of the duets and the surprises that they can wring from even the most familiar songs.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
