Silently Held - that's the name of the new album by guitarist and singer Chantal Acda. The English phrase has two meanings: Held silently, but also held silently. Almost like "endured". This describes the poles between which the nine tracks on the album oscillate.

Acda is one of those musicians who fly under the radar. Yet the Dutchwoman has been playing with Bill Frisell, one of the most renowned guitarists in contemporary jazz, for years. He can also be heard on Acda's latest album, together with a number of other musicians who have joined forces to form The Atlantic Drifters. And Acda?

Acda is self-taught. She taught herself how to make music. Although her mother was a classical singer, Acda had no intention of becoming a musician herself. But she did, and Silently Held is now her 13th album.

On the shelf, Silently Held is categorised as jazz. When you listen to it, it could also be in the songwriter genre. Or vocal jazz or something else. Acda herself says she doesn't think in terms of boundaries or genres. And she says that she enjoys working with jazz musicians, but that doesn't mean her music is jazz. The nine compositions are clear evidence of this. They are rather emotion moulded into sound.

In fact, Agda says that when she wrote the songs for Silently Held, she was not in a very good phase of her life. She felt fragile. And this state of mind resonates in these songs. They are gentle and reserved, slow for the most part and cautious, almost tentative.

Acda recorded the first versions of the pieces together with Frisell, double bassist Thomas Morgan and her partner, drummer Eric Thielemans, as one-takes. Simply play through and capture the mood authentically.

Josef Dumoulin on piano, guitarist Shahzad Ismaily and a five-piece brass section later expanded on the basic mood found here. They all added splashes of colour, snippets of sound, atmosphere, which supported and further consolidated the core that had already been found. A clever approach.

The result is a decidedly calm and at the same time gripping album that captivates the ear every second with its open and transparent mix, the airy stage and the balanced sound. All in all, music that is absolutely worth listening to. (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)

Chantal Acda, vocals, acoustic guitar
Bill Frisell, guitar
Shahzad Ismaily, guitar
Eric Thielenmas, drums
Joachim Badenhorst, clarinet
Thomas Morgan, double bass
Jozef Dumoulin, piano
Colin Stetson, saxophone
Frans Van Isacker, saxophone
Kurt van Herck, saxophone
Niels Van Heertum, euphonium