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Benjamin Koppel: Story of Mankind - A Requiem
by Alberto Bazzurro
Il cinquantenne altosassofonista e compositore danese Benjamin Koppel riunisce in questo ambizioso doppio album un altrettanto ambizioso settetto per dar vita a un'opera di grande respiro in cui colpisce anzitutto la ferrea ripartizione fra brani ampi (i dispari) e brevissimi (i pari), che fungono in qualche modo da ricapitolazione, per voce (detta) e piccoli inserti strumentali. Il tutto dota il lavoro di un respiro--un tono, un andamento, un ordine--particolare, all'interno di una struttura assai ferrea che abbina una ...
Continue ReadingBenjamin Koppel: White Buses: Passage To Freedom
by Angelo Leonardi
Il sassofonista e compositore Benjamin Koppel è uno dei massimi jazzmen danesi: in trent'anni di carriera ha inciso più di sessanta dischi con i massimi nomi del jazz contemporaneo e il suo nome spicca per il trio con Scott Colley e Brian Blade e per il quartetto con Colley, Kenny Werner e Jack DeJohnette (The Art of the Quartet, Cowbell 2020). Questo progetto è stato registrato a New York coinvolgendo altri statunitensi (Uri Caine, Antonio Sánchez, Thana ...
Continue ReadingBenjamin Koppel: White Buses: Passage To Freedom
by Doug Collette
If saxophonist/composer/bandleader Benjamin Koppel has proven anything over the last few years, it is that he has no trouble finding sources of inspiration for his work. Whether it is just for the sake of blowing with a redoubtable rhythm section in the form of bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade on Perspective (Cowbell Music, 2023) or illustrating his own range of style with The Ultimate Soul & Jazz Revue (Cowbell Music, 2020) and The Art of The ...
Continue ReadingKenneth Dahl Knudsen: Clockstopper
by Edward Blanco
Not much is known about Danish bassist Kenneth Dahl Knudsen, even his own website reveals little about his personal story, only that he has won several awards, including being voted “Jazz musician of 2010 in northern Denmark," has been fortunate to have performed the music he loves for most of his life and claims inspiration from the music of John Coltrane and Igor Stravinsky. Delivering his second album as leader on Clockstopper, Knudsen leads a core quintet of international players, ...
Continue ReadingSoren Moller: Christian X Variations
by Raul d'Gama Rose
Quasi-historians suggest that the story, in which Christian X, King of Denmark dictated that all Danes, including himself, would wear the Star of David as a symbol of solidarity with his Jewish subjects, if the Nazis forced the Danish Jews to do so, is apocryphal. The profound nature of the King's support for his Jewish subjects and his fierce declaration of Danish nationalism amid the then-rise of Nazism is at the heart of the celebration of this suite. Indeed, pianist/composer ...
Continue ReadingSoren Moller: Christian X Variations
by Edward Blanco
Making a special social statement with his music, Danish-born pianist Soren Moller honors the memory of Danish King Christian X who, during World War II, protected his country's Jews from discrimination and deportation by the Nazis. The effort to protect and unite fellow countrymen served as the inspiration for the compositions on Christian X Variations. These are five powerful compositions, arranged for both a conventional quartet and a wind quintet, with Moller blending elements of jazz and classical ...
Continue ReadingSoren Moller: Christian X Variations
by Dan Bilawsky
While Danish-born pianist Soren Moller and American saxophonist Dick Oatts--of Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz orchestra fame--have had an ongoing partnership on record, the seeds of this union have finally reached full bloom with Christian X Variations. The music on this recording, written to honor the Danish King who made significant efforts to protect Jews from deportation and discrimination during World War II, is easily the most ambitious and powerful that Moller has ever created. Whether veering into ...
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