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Jazz Articles about Julie Sassoon
Julie Sassoon, Willi Kellers: Waves
by John Eyles
Although pianist Julie Sassoon's first recording—the trio Azilut!'s To the Power of Three (Babel)—was released in 2001, the intervening years have not seen a stream of albums from her; in fact, her releases to date can be counted on two hands. However, in Sassoon's case quantity is far less important than the variety and quality of the music on the releases. In particular, amongst her recordings are two fine solo albums—New Life (Babel, 2006), inspired by the 2004 birth of ...
Continue ReadingJulie Sassoon: Fourtune
by Duncan Heining
Fourtune is British pianist-composer Julie Sassoon's first quartet recording. Sassoon's musical approach draws in equal measure on her classical training and on a love of jazz and improvised music. This marriage goes far beyond the translation of a pianistic technique from one musical area to another but becomes something far deeper and more powerfully emotionally moving in her hands. The CD features life-and musical partner Lothar Ohlmeier on reeds, along with a remarkably strong rhythm pairing in bassist ...
Continue ReadingJulie Sassoon: Land of Shadows
by Alberto Bazzurro
Con questo live tedesco dell'aprile 2012 (tre date diverse, a Colonia, Dessau e Berlino), la pianista inglese Julie Sassoon approda al suo secondo album in solitudine, dopo New Life, del 2006. Lo contraddistingue un fluire alquanto particolare, che se da un lato lascia ammirati (e seduce, anche) appunto per l'originalità di prospettiva, dall'altro appesantisce non poco l'ascolto a causa del limitato spettro dinamico che l'accompagna. Entrando un po' di più nei meandri del lavoro (che nel bonus ...
Continue ReadingJulie Sassoon: Land Of Shadows
by Bruce Lindsay
Land Of Shadows, the second album from British pianist Julie Sassoon, is a striking work. A mix of the simple and complex, gentle and strident, dark and light, it's powerful and affecting.After studying in the UK Sassoon moved to Germany in 2009. Recorded live in Cologne, Dessau and the Neue Synagoge Berlin during April 2012, this music explores Sassoon's German-Jewish roots. Clearly, this exploration is an extremely personal one but Sassoon's music has a universality that invites everyone ...
Continue ReadingJulie Sassoon: Dancing in the Shadows
by Duncan Heining
It's been seven years since British pianist and composer Julie Sassoon released her first solo CD, New Life (Babel). Since then, she and her family have moved to Berlin and Sassoon has quietly established herself in Germany as an unusual and unique talent. It's been a long wait for fans but her new live album, Land of Shadows (jazzwerkstatt) offers both a confirmation of and even a deepening of her approach to composition and improvisation. It's also been ...
Continue ReadingJulie Sassoon: Land of Shadows
by Duncan Heining
Land of Shadows is British improvising pianist Julie Sassoon's second solo CD and her first for the German jazzwerkstatt label. Recorded live in Cologne and at the famed Bauhaus theatre in Dessau, the record marks both an consolidation and an advance on its predecessor, New Life (2006 Babel). Where New Life drew its energy from the joy of first motherhood, Land of Shadows explores a darker world of experience. Sassoon moved to Berlin a few years ago and ...
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