Helge Lien Trio - Hello Troll (2008/2009) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

How to master The Art Of The Trio perfectly. Until now we've only known it from Brad Mehldau, Bill Evans and E.S.T. Now, with the Norwegian Helge Lien Trio, a new formation is on the way to adding new exciting soundscapes to the piano trio. Perfectly in tune with each other, this trio has presented us with "Hello Troll", an album that paints lyrical-impressionistic moodscapes, and whose appeal is practically irresistable. "One of the most distinguished ambassadors of the guild: lyrical, but not a bit troll-like." –Rolling Stone

The first bars of the opener „Gamut Warning“ are carried by great discipline and an absolute relevance. Together with Lien’s dynamic phrasing and the trio’s instinctively sure interplay, they make you prick up your ears immediately. And the other tracks, like the the dramatic 'Axis Of Free Will', the highly romantic „Radio“, the fragile songs 'Diverted Dance' and 'It Is What It Is, But It Is', or the tricky but fiery piece 'Halla Troll' impressively demonstrate that a formation that masters the 'The Art Of The Trio' perfectly is presenting itself here.

In fact, apart from the more ardent Norwegian watchers out there and a few Late Junction listeners you may not realise that pianist Helge Lien along with bass player Frode Berg and drummer Knut Aalefjær have been around for a fair while. Hello Troll is their sixth album in seven years and marks that crucial point where a band that know both their chops and each other finally ascend to a level of playing that on the surface looks easy and yet remains stunning. The first couple of tracks do, in fact, put you in mind of the kind of fast-paced Jarrettisms that EST were so adept at, yet to call HLT derivative is a huge disservice. Lien's modal approach owes as much to the original source, Bill Evans, as it does any of his fellow near-countrymen. By track three (Radio) Berg's bowed bass propels this mysterious number into unknown territory. Like the cover image of a dark forest's interior, this is interior music made by men who, like most Norwegians, hold a deep respect for the pristine wilderness that surrounds them. The dancier numbers here: Troozee, Diverted Dance or Snurt, contain enough catchy riffs to make them trusted friends upon repeated listens, while on Halla Troll Lien's use of dissonance is a fabulous counterpoint to the jagged time signature. By the gorgeous closing In The Wind Somewhere you've forgotten that there ever was an Esbjorn, Brad Meldhau, Tord Gustavsen or whoever. This is a world perfectly created by Lien and his pals. Get over it and just enjoy.

Tracklist:

01 - Gamut Warning
02 - Axis of free will
03 - Radio
04 - Troozee
05 - Diverted dance
06 - It is what it is, but it is
07 - Halla troll
08 - Snurt
09 - In the wind somewhere

Produced by Helge Lien & Dagobert Böhm. Recorded on February 24-25, 2008.
Engineered, Mixed & Mastered by Jan Erik Kongshaug at Rainbow Studios, Oslo, Norway.

Musicians:
Helge Lien - piano
Frode Berg - bass
Knut Aalefjær - drums


Thanks to the Original customer!