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Ulf Wakenius - Notes From The Heart (2006)

Posted By: DjangoTiger
Ulf Wakenius - Notes From The Heart (2006)

Ulf Wakenius - Notes From The Heart (2006)
MP3 CBR 320 kbps | 11 Tracks | 54:56 | 126 MB
Genre: Jazz | Label: ACT

In spite of the success of pianist Keith Jarrett over his long career, his compositions generally have not been explored very frequently by other jazz musicians. Guitarist Ulf Wakenius, recognized for his work as a leader and being a member of the Oscar Peterson Quartet, explores 14 of Jarrett's works, playing acoustic guitar and occasionally overdubbing a rhythm line. He's accompanied by Lars Danielsson (who plays bass, cello, and piano) and drummer Morten Lund. The relaxing ballad "Memories of Tomorrow" is a gentle bossa nova that translates very well into a guitar-driven vehicle. The Windup" is a playful calypso with a touch of funkiness, while Danielsson's spacious piano provides the perfect complement to Wakenius in the duo performance of the bittersweet ballad "Mon Coeur Est Rouge." Lund's drumming is consistently attentive and never overdone. For jazz fans who have never embraced Keith Jarrett's music, this brilliant tribute to his compositions may open their ears to appreciate his lyrical, often striking style of writing. (allmusic)

One of the most significant artists of the past forty years, pianist Keith Jarrett continues to base his ever-evolving style on a remarkable stream-of-consciousness approach to improvisation. But with Jarrett focusing his energy almost exclusively on his longstanding Standards Trio and improvised solo piano performances for the past two decades, it's easy to forget that he's also written a wealth of memorable compositions. Still, Jarrett asserts that improvisation is nothing less than composition in real time, and he's absolutely right.
But Jarrett's influence reaches beyond pianists. His ability to combine an almost fragile lyricism with richer complexities and imbue the jazz language with an appealing folksiness has influenced more than one generation of players on other instruments, including the equally influential guitarist Pat Metheny.

Swedish guitarist Ulf Wakenius' style has clearly been filtered through Jarrett and Metheny, but that's not to imply he lacks his own voice. On Forever You (Stunt, 2004) he demonstrated their same deep respect for melody and the essence of song, but with an economical approach that belied his considerable virtuosity. On Notes from the Heart—the first album ever to feature a single artist paying tribute to Jarrett the composer and the performer—Wakenius turns his attention to interpreting his music. By approaching not only some of Jarrett's more well-known songs, but also material from his solo piano improvisations, Wakenius proves Jarrett's statement that the real time compositional nature of improvisation is more than self-justification for abandoning conventional writing.

Restricting himself to classical guitar, Wakenius mines a cross-section of material from many stages of Jarrett's career, from the delicately melancholic and Latin-informed "Everything That Lives Laments, from The Mourning of a Star (Atlantic, 1971) to the more ostinato-based, groove-centric title track from The Cure (ECM, 1991). Jarrett's European Quartet is represented by the gently balladic "Innocence from Nude Ants (ECM, 1980), the vulnerable beauty of the title track to My Song (ECM, 1977), and the more up-tempo folksy complexity of "The Windup, from Belonging (ECM, 1974).

The American Quartet is represented here, as is the Standards Trio. Throughout, Wakenius—often layering his linear lines over an overdubbed rhythm guitar track—is sensitively accompanied by two long-time associates: bassist Lars Danielsson, who also adds occasional piano and cello, and drummer Morten Lund.

But the most compelling pieces—and the best evidence of Jarrett's compositional sensibility in any context—are those fashioned from his solo piano works. "Memories of Tomorrow, better known as "Köln II C from The Köln Concert (ECM, 1975), is an elegant bossa, while "Mon Couer Est Rouge, from Concerts (ECM, 1981) is a profoundly touching duet with Danielsson on piano.

Throughout, Wakenius' evocative playing—at times exploring the meaning of a single note, elsewhere more elaborately fashioned phrases—digs deep into Jarrett's material, dispensing with all artifice and getting right to the core. Notes from the Heart is aptly titled. Wakenius pays reverent homage to Jarrett in the best way possible—by demonstrating Jarrett's unequivocal influence and fully subsuming it in his own pure and unaffected musical approach. Simply beautiful. (allaboutjazz)

Tracklist:

01. Memories of Tomorrow
02. Dancing
03. Innocence
04. The Windup
05. My Song
06. Mon Cœur
07. Everything That Lives Laments
08. The Cure
09. So Tender
10. U-Dance
11. Prayer

Personnel:

Ulf Wakenius – guitar
Lars Danielsson – bass, cello, piano
Morten Lund – drums