Chris Stover Niels Praestholm Helical

About Helical.

The Chris Stover Niels Præstholm Helical is the latest collaboration between US-born, Australian-based trombonist and composer Chris Stover and Danish bassist and composer Niels Præstholm, building on many years of cutting-edge work they have pursued both together and individually.

The quartet—also featuring Erik Kimestad on trumpet and Chris Falkenberg on drums— explores a wide range of improvisational approaches. These are grounded in the rotation of musical material through time and space, evoking the “helix” suggested by the band’s name and giving rise to new musical connections.

From this process emerge fresh improvisational possibilities: new ways of listening to one another and new openings for shared creative exploration. The music is adventurous and innovative, yet always engaging—by turns lyrical, playful, groovy, and haunting.

Chris Stover and Niels Præstholm began their musical partnership fourteen years ago, moving between New York and Denmark and collaborating with a wide circle of innovative artists. Their work—both individually and together—spans a broad stylistic spectrum, from driving grooves and playful juxtapositions to genre-bending experimental improvisation. Even at its most exploratory edges, the music remains lyrical and rhythmically compelling.

The Helical quartet led by Chris Stover and Niels Præstholm embodies all of these qualities. Through compositions that investigate constantly shifting spatial-temporal relationships and multi-layered improvisational possibilities, the ensemble creates a sound that is cohesive yet always slightly unpredictable.

Tags