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Songs From The Treehouse

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Tim Collins

Label: GLM Music
Released: 2025
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With the album “Songs From The Treehouse”, Tim Collins and Martin Gasselsberger have captured the essence of childhood nostalgia through emotional, intricate, and playful compositions. American vibraphonist Tim Collins and Austrian pianist Martin Gasselsberger first performed together in 2013, and from the very first note, it was clear they were musical kindred spirits. Since then they have performed many concerts in both duo and quartet settings, and now with the release of the album “Songs From The Treehouse” (GLM Fine Music), this deep musical connection is on record for all to hear. Tim Collins grew up in Plattsburgh, NY, and eventually moved to New York City and worked there with many notable musicians, including Mike Moreno, Charlie Hunter, John Ellis, Ingrid Jensen and Aaron Parks. He relocated to Europe in 2009, settling in Munich in 2010. He has released six albums as a leader, with Downbeat magazine calling his music “thoughtful, probing composition.” Martin Gasselsberger was born in Gaspoltshofen, Austria and started his jazz career at the age of 15. He has released nineteen albums as a leader and was named “Austrian Jazz Musician of the Year” twice by Concerto Magazine. Martin has also composed works for string quartet and choir and currently is a jazz piano professor at the University of Performing Arts in Vienna. “We wanted to capture the intimacy and playfulness of our concerts in an album”, says Collins. “I love that the most nuanced expression can come through…we’ve played together so much that we can almost read each other’s minds." The running theme throughout “Songs From The Treehouse” is simple: happy childhood memories. The CD release features twelve songs, while the vinyl features nine. Of those songs, six are composed by Collins and four by Gasselsberger. The two covers include a Billie Eilish song and piece by Austrian guitarist and composer Harry Pepl. The CD begins with Collins’ through-composed opus ‘The Last Long Days’, a flowing, morphing, multi-part adventure of a composition depicting the last days of summer when the air begins to cool off and the sun goes down earlier. “Shuttle Song”, composed by Gasselsberger, is a funky, time shifting groove number that settles into a wide open swing solo. “This song zooms around the neighborhood on a homemade scooter,” says Martin. The album continues with the pensive odd-meter piece “Adirondack River”, written by Collins. Tim’s hometown of Plattsburgh, New York is situated just north of the Adirondack mountains - and as he describes it in the liner notes, “the rocks are jagged, the water is fast, but somehow the flow is always relaxed.” Gasselsberger follows suit with his own homage to rivers, “Water’s Liberty”. This song has a pop-sounding chord progression, and is delivered with a delicate touch and sensitivity that brings the melancholy mood to life. The next piece is a jolt of energy called “Ode To Airtime” (Collins). “When I was a little kid, I tried to build a roller coaster in my backyard. In my mind, it had barrel rolls, tight turns, and sudden drops. In reality, it was just a dangerous rickety wooden ramp that we slid down on a skateboard. This tune is more like the roller coaster I imagined.” Perhaps the most romantic song on the album, “Going Home” (Collins) is a simple, yet poignant melody - again recalling the theme of childhood memories. Collins still visits his home state of New York frequently. “Every time I go back, it feels like nothing has changed. Still, everything is different.” “Air, Love & Vitamines” is a composition by Austrian guitarist Harry Pepl, who famously performed the song with vibraphonist Werner Pirchner. The two musicians are icons in Austria, but little known outside the country. Martin and Tim wanted to play the song just for fun during downtime in the studio, and they ended up recording this spontaneous version. The next song is a relaxed, bluesy swing tune called “Thad’s Bad.” Collins was inspired by the music of Thad Jones, and wrote this melody as a tune to really stretch out on. Gasselsberger’s barrel-house piano stylings fill out the arrangement in a way that will keep your toes tapping. “Everything I Wanted” is a song composed by Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas. “I once asked one of my students which song she wanted to learn in class, and this was her suggestion,” says Tim, who was teaching school music at the time. “The first time I heard it, I was so moved that I knew we would have to record it.” This beautiful arrangement features the vibraphone ‘singing’ the melody, while the piano gradually builds the emotional intensity. After such an emotionally charged song, it’s always good to relax and have a little fun - and that’s exactly where “Uh- Oh, Here Come The Bad Guys” shines. This Collins composition is an up-tempo “jam” tune, where both musicians throw caution to the wind and let it fly! The tongue-in-cheek title refers to neighborhood games of ‘Hide and Seek’ - when the kids are hiding and trying not to get caught, but laughing uncontrollably so everyone knows where they are. As adults who look back on these memories, we know we are lucky to have had such idyllic childhoods. Not everyone is so lucky. So we carry with us a feeling of nostalgia - sad that those days are gone, but happy that we had them at all. The composition “Passing Blue” reflects this feeling. The main melody was composed by Gasselsberger, while the interlude section was written by Collins. In a way, it’s symbolic - these two musicians, who grew up on different continents, in different cultures, speaking different languages, can still both look back on a childhood and feel that same sense of happiness. The final burst of energy on this album is a joyful call to action “Meet Me At The Teeter-Totter” - Don’t let summer end! Hold on to those precious days of youth! When everything seems so simple, when the only goal is to stay up late, when tomorrow you will wake up and create a new adventure. And so goes the album ‘Songs From The Treehouse’. Didn’t we all want to live in a treehouse when we were kids?

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