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Carsten Dahl: Painting Music
by Chris Mosey
Danish pianist Carsten Dahl uses the liner notes for Painting Music to try to explain the process of creation. “The universe has a sound and rhythm," he says. “Everything moves forward, either powerful and explosive or modest and like slow shadows in a landscape." The words accompany a picture of Dahl with paint-stained fingers, grinning impishly. “The energy which urges me into an artistic unfolding is the power of the universe," he says, “I am painted or ...
Continue ReadingTorhild Ostad / Carsten Dahl: Jeg roper til deg
by Jakob Baekgaard
Back in 1982, the Norwegian singer, Radka Toneff, released a very special duo album with the American pianist, Steve Dobrogosz, called Fairytales. Since then, the fate of the music has also become something of a fairytale, with the album being chosen as one of the best Norwegian albums of all time. It seems almost impossible that someone would once again reach the heights of that iconic Norwegian album, but out of nowhere comes Jeg roper til deg, ...
Continue ReadingCarsten Dahl Trio: Simplicity
by Chris Mosey
Danish pianist Carsten Dahl has made many fine albums but none finer than his latest, Simplicity. He describes in a video posted on his record company Storyville's website, how it felt to create it: “I don't have any thoughts about what I play when I play. I focus a lot on not being the one playing, not having any thoughts, not having an expectation of a certain result or a certain sound." Looking a ...
Continue ReadingLive at SMK / Bach Goldberg Variations
by Neri Pollastri
I due CD in esame, entrambi del 2014, vedono protagonista il pianista danese Carsten Dahl e, sebbene piuttosto diversi tra loro, sono accomunati da un approccio libero da vincoli e mirato a promuovere una musica personale e innovativa. Stefan Pasborg -Carsten Dahl Live at SMK ILK Music 2014 Valutazione: * * * ½ Il primo è registrato dal vivo l'8 luglio 2012 presso lo Statens Museum for Kunst di ...
Continue ReadingCarsten Dahl Trio: A Good Time
by Chris Mosey
With this album, Denmark's premier jazz pianist Carsten Dahl throws into doubt the old adage that familiarity breeds contempt. First, there's the line-up: he's played with Lennart Ginman (bass) and Frands Rifbjerg (drums) many times before, most notably on two previous albums for Storyville, Will You Make My Soup Hot & Silver from 1996 and Message From Bud, recorded two years later. Fine albums, both, but eclipsed by this one. Secondly, there's the content. ...
Continue ReadingCarsten Dahl / Mads Vinding / Alex Riel: In Our Own Sweet Way
by Chris Mosey
After Paris, Copenhagen was the European refuge for American jazz musicians fleeing racial and sometimes political oppression in their homeland in the postwar years. Ben Webster is buried there (in the same cemetery as Søren Kierkegaard), Dexter Gordon and Johnny Griffin locked horns there. Such greats created a solid local scene, which continues to produce some exceedingly fine musicians. Carsten Dahl, a truly great pianist, started out modeling his playing on that of Bud Powell, active in ...
Continue ReadingLars Danielsson: Libera Me
by John Kelman
When the bonus track on an album is the most adventurous piece, you know there might be trouble. And that's not to say that bassist Lars Danielsson's latest album, Libera Me , is bad; it isn't. In a year where we've seen other artists mesh jazz improvisation with an orchestra, most notably pianist Steve Kuhn with Promises Kept (ECM) and Charlie Mariano with Not Quite a Ballad (Intuition), it has come to pass that these two disparate concepts--the obvious demand ...
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