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Jazz Articles about Espen Eriksen

14
Album Review

Espen Eriksen Trio with Andy Sheppard: As Good As It Gets

Read "As Good As It Gets" reviewed by John Eyles


The Espen Eriksen Trio--Eriksen on piano, Lars Tormod Jenset on bass, and Andreas Bye on drums-- was formed in 2007 and their debut album, You Had Me at Goodbye, was released in 2010 on Rune Grammofon where they have remained ever since. In 2016 British saxophonist Andy Sheppard was invited to guest with the trio when they played in London. Sheppard has since commented, “I knew from the first time I heard the trio play that I would fit right ...

17
Album Review

Espen Eriksen Trio with Andy Sheppard: As Good As It Gets

Read "As Good As It Gets" reviewed by Chris May


Norway's Espen Eriksen Trio is the first Scandinavian piano trio to enjoy a measure of sustained international success since Sweden's Esbjörn Svensson Trio's high-profile run was cut short by Svensson's death in 2008. While some listeners thought that EST's style was becoming over-codifed during its final years, EET still sounds box fresh thirteen years and many thousands of road miles since its debut album, You Had Me At Goodbye (Rune Grammofon, 2010). What is also remarkable is ...

5
Album Review

Espen Eriksen Trio featuring Andy Sheppard: In The Mountains

Read "In The Mountains" reviewed by John Eyles


Formed in 2007, with personnel which has remained unchanged since, the Espen Eriksen Trio released its first Rune Grammofon album, You Had Me At Goodbye, in 2010. Since then, they have regularly released albums on the label, the most recent being End of Summer (2020). Prior to the current release, their only album which did not feature the trio alone was Perfectly Unhappy (2018) on which they were joined by the renowned British saxophonist Andy Sheppard. In the Mountains is ...

8
Album Review

Espen Eriksen Trio featuring Andy Sheppard: In The Mountains

Read "In The Mountains" reviewed by Gareth Thompson


Espen Eriksen uncorks a surprise at the end of this remarkable live album. For the closing cut, his trio takes on Krzysztof Komeda's theme tune for the 1968 urban horror flick Rosemary's Baby. To begin with, gothic piano hammerings and eerie bass scrapings replace Komeda's spooked female “la-la" vocals. Yet by the end, Eriksen's keyboard genius sweeps us into a realm of muted melancholy, pitched somewhere between dread and contemplation. It becomes a piece that seems to articulate the very ...

5
Album Review

Espen Eriksen Trio: End Of Summer

Read "End Of Summer" reviewed by Gareth Thompson


Any album recorded during the lockdown of 2020 will doubtless be scrutinised for cryptic references. As such, End Of Summer as a title might hint at something deeper (or darker) than mere seasonal flux. But amidst so much global turmoil, the Espen Eriksen Trio has held its nerve and created another poignant opus. Tranquility at the centre of chaos. As a Nordic pianist with a keen awareness of folk ballads and lullabies, Eriksen brings an innocent guile to ...

7
Album Review

Espen Eriksen Trio with Andy Sheppard: Perfectly Unhappy

Read "Perfectly Unhappy" reviewed by John Eyles


The Norwegian Espen Eriksen Trio was formed in 2007 and its personnel has remained unchanged ever since, across three previous album releases on Rune Grammofon. Such stability has allowed pianist Espen Eriksen, bassist Lars Tormod Jenset and drummer Andreas Bye to bond together and develop the particular chemistry that a successful trio needs, without having to resort to gimmicks or trickery to get their music noticed. Primarily based upon Eriksen's own compositions, that music has a rich sense of melody ...

4
Album Review

Espen Eriksen Trio With Andy Sheppard: Perfectly Unhappy

Read "Perfectly Unhappy" reviewed by Gareth Thompson


Primo Levi wrote that perfect happiness and perfect unhappiness are both beyond reach. For this he blamed our human condition, which is opposed to everything infinite. Maybe this album's title is also a comment on our hope and despair through life's journey. Not within the realm of Levi's suffering, of course, but in our common role as sentient beings. Those of us for whom music is a great solace should thus revere the union of Espen Eriksen and ...


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