Falling Crystals Emil Brandqvist Trio

• 1 While We Are Here 05:05
• 2 Soaring 03:48
• 3 Crystals 04:00
• 4 Through the Forest 03:38
• 5 The Sea Begins to Freeze 05:54
• 6 Longing 05:04
• 7 A Day in Memories 08:50
• 8 Across the Waters 04:14
• 9 Early Spring 03:46
• 10 Shine 03:36
• 11 Guds Gröna Ängar 04:19
• 12 The Oak Trees 06:07
• Total Runtime 58:21

Info for Falling Crystals

Letting the cat out of the bag right away when introducing a new CD might not be ‘stylish’, but the Emil Brandqvist Trio has honestly delivered a masterpiece called “Falling Crystals” (SKP 9135). Over the last few years drummer Emil Brandqvist from Gothenburg, Sweden played his way into the intimate upper ranks of European Jazz; his trio stands for low-key, picturesque, touching melodies and sounds that remain with listeners. Together with pianist Tuomas Turunen from Finland and Max Thornberg from Stockholm on double bass, one of the trademarks for this multinational Scandinavian ensemble has been that the trio eagerly brings in guests to the studio to put the finishing brushstrokes on their audiophonic paintings. Much like designing a portrait, their music builds to reveal more and more layers. On “Breathe Out” (SKP 9115), their first album for SKIP in 2013, it was the Sjöströmska String Quartet from Gothenburg that set gem-like accents. For the following album entitled “Seascapes” (SKP 9128), Emil Brandqvist and his trio invited a number of woodwinds and horns to add greater density to the atmospheric settings: flutes, clarinets, bass clarinets and flugelhorns. That the album earned itself a ranking at No. 14 on the German Jazz Charts can be traced back to the fact that the trio gave a slew of highly acclaimed concerts at festivals such as Palatia Jazz or in Hamburg, Germany. Those live gigs proved that the trio has no trouble fulfilling even the highest of expectations set by audiences accustomed to international acts.

Last year’s concert-goers received an early inkling of how the trio has evolved. “Falling Crystals” enhances the listeners’ range via moods and compositional structures that underscore just how exceptional these three ‘northern lights’ are. The aura and music were sensitively captured by Åke Linton, a Swedish studio legend whose credentials already include work with Bobo Stenson, Lars Danielsson, the Esbjörn Svensson Trio, Magnus Öström, Joakim Milder and Dan Berglund. “The Sea Begins To Freeze” reveals an opening theme reminiscent of film noir in which Emil Brandqvist has revived his collaboration with the Sjöströmstra String Quartet. On the composition by Tuomas Turunen named “A Day In Memories”, synthesizer inserts turn the tables to astonishing effect. On “Longing”, bass-player Max Thornberg lets his bowing display a North African coloring to match the desire in the track’s name. “Shine” is equally surprising: Despite all the Nordic roots, here the trio shows that it too was raised on the kind of Jazz made famous by great trios ‘way back when’ in the USA. The whole album sparkles with solid compositions, a lasting sound where the trio definitively ‘shows its stuff’.

Emil Brandqvist, drums
Tuomas A. Turunen, piano
Max Thornberg, double bass

Emil Brandqvist Trio
The reactions to Emil Brandqvist?s debut album with SKIP in 2013, ?Breathe Out? (SKP 9115), were nothing less than enthusiastic. The recording together with the Sjöströmska String Quartet not only clocked in as CD of the Week at radio broadcasters WDR3 and HR Mikado, it was the Audio Tip for STEREOPLAY magazine. The German periodical Jazzthetik attested to ?an intriguing alternative draft to the general view of what a drummer does.? As for festival and club appearances, though there weren?t many last year he cast a spell that left audiences in a rapt, attentive and even euphoric mood.

One could say that this drummer and composer from Göteborg, Sweden is more an audiophonic painter than ?the guy who sets the beat’. Fearless and persuasively convincing, he has the courage to put the melody first, to live out his folkloric influences from the far north and his penchant for quiet drum-playing. The trio?s line-up equally comprised of Tuomas Turunen, pianist and composer from Finland, and bass-player Max Thornberg from Stockholm, provides copious support. Turunen is a discovery all by himself: Inclined toward the classic vein, his playing is at times cheerfully bubbly, other times reserved, with dabs and dashes. A pianist who knows how to set distinctive accents. Following ?Breathe Out? with its string quartet arrangements, on ?Seascapes? (SKP 9128) Emil Brandqvist has now turned to winds & horns. In his inimitable way he manages to create an atmosphere ranging between levity (for instance on the track ?Silloin lennän? by Turunen), melancholy (on ?Vals?, the opener), spontaneous surprise and magic moments. The album also features Johan Asplund / flugelhorn, Martin Brandqvist / flutes, clarinet and bass clarinet, and Nils Börén / clarinet, all of whom strive to add to ?the big picture’ without soloist allures. The final touches on ?Seascapes? came from Stefano Amerio at the studio ARTE SUONO in Udine, Italy, a world-class audio engineer who most recently put the ?spit & polish’ on a number of albums for ECM, not to mention the last four Tingvall Trio productions for SKIP.

This time the CD is predominantly presented as a trio. For Emil Brandqvist, it’s tracks like ?Vals? that come closest to his ideal of lyrical pieces playfully wrought for a trio. ?Skog? (?the forest’) describes a feel-your-way stroll, the magical ?Du haller min hand? the balance between the tension and happiness of a jaunt to the big city with his child. Encounters with ?Bobergs udde? and ?Grimsholmen?, places where Brandqvist spends the summer, along with thoughts given to ?Den sista isbjörnen? (?the last polar bear’) belong to the widely varying points for listeners to enter the world of Emil Brandqvist. German magazine STERN: “Magical music: weightless melodies…a blend of film score in wide-screen format and chamber play, sweet melancholy…thoughts on love, homesickness and yearning – 5 Stars, Highest Rating.”

This album contains no booklet.