Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jean-Simon Maurin Trio and Elin Wrede: Djupa Andetag

438

Jean-Simon Maurin Trio and Elin Wrede: Djupa Andetag

By

View read count
Jean-Simon Maurin Trio and Elin Wrede: Djupa Andetag
Djupa Andetag means "deep breaths" in Swedish. They're something that can be easily taken in the unpolluted atmosphere of Scandinavia. And at its best, Jean-Simon Maurin's music—light and lyrical, greatly influenced by pianist Bill Evans—is as fresh as a Baltic summer breeze. There's introspection but—perhaps because of his French ancestry—none of the brooding melancholy that is so often a hallmark of Swedish jazz. Having said that, he listened to Jan Johansson a great deal as a child, a pianist who demonstrated that quality in spades. On the other hand, Maurin has also been guided by Jan Lundgren, the most international pianist on today's Swedish scene.

For this, his second album, Maurin, aged 31, recruited—for good or ill—vocalist Elin Wrede. She joins forces with bassist Martin Lundberg and drummer Lars "Bagarn" Andersson, members of his regular trio. All the songs, with the exception of Van Morrison's "Moondance" (competently translated into Swedish by Anna Houmann, Andersson's wife, to become "Måndans"), are originals. Everyone involved positively bubbles with enthusiasm, as reflected in the cheerful cover spread of them laughing and pulling faces at the camera.

There's a certain dichotomy between Maurin's considerable abilities and the those of his collaborators. His elegant, swinging pianistics not only dwarf the efforts of Lundberg and Andersson, they feel at odds with Houmann's lyrics, which at best reflect youthful optimism and innocence, at worst spill over into embarrassing blue-eyed naïvete with over-large helpings of joy and hope. Jazz songs should surely be knowing, careworn, and at least a little worldly.

And, while she has talent, Wrede's breathlessly gung-ho vocals—particularly on "Grön Bossa"—tend to grate. The three instrumentals come as a relief. Maurin is particularly assured and interesting on "Soluppgång Över Degeberga" (Sunrise Over Degeberga—an area of the southern city of Kristianstad, where he was born). Left wanting more of the same, instead Wrede comes back with another infusion of joy and hope. And all this in the middle of the worst economic recession since World War Two.

Maurin currently lives on the Baltic island of Gotland, which is a long way from anywhere. Excepting the fact that legendary saxophonist Lars Gullin was born there, the place has had little impact on the world of jazz, the arts or, well, anything else really. However, Maurin will be moving back to the mainland soon, where he'll hopefully play in more challenging company and continue to develop his considerable talents.

These are early days. Maurin is a young man with a long way to go and Djupa Andetag is a step along the way.

Track Listing

Djupa andetag; Ut & Segla; Du & jag vi stannar här; Soluppgång över Degeberga; Inspiration; Måndans; Stormens öga; Grön bossa; En chans; Skål; Inte ett moln.

Personnel

Jean-Simon Maurin: piano; Elin Wrede: vocals; Martin Lundberg: bass; Lars "Bagarn" Andersson: drums.

Album information

Title: Djupa Andetag | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Prophone Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.