Helge Lien piano
Frode Berg bass
Knut Aalefjær drums
'Impeccably recorded in Oslo's Rainbow Studios, Lien reveals perhaps a broader emotional range than previous albums and his virtuosity is less masked in places, developing and exploring musical motifs.' JAZZWISE
Compositions by Helge Lien
Published by Edition Ozella
Produced by Helge Lien & Dagobert Böhm
Recorded, mixed & mastered by Jan Erik Kongshaug at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, Norway
The Japanese term Natsukashii describes how intense memories can suddenly be triggered by something as trivial as an old shoe. Norwegian pianist Helge Lien has dedicated his latest trio-album to these moments, when reality is replaced by reverie and a simple chord can reveal innermost secrets.
Aptly, Natsukashii was recorded in just three days. The sense of spontaneity and subcutaneous tension this has awarded the sessions is palpable on the album, which is pierced by dark metaphors as well as a slow-simmering eroticism and channels the entire breadth of the trio's influences - from classical to jazz and from folk to progressive rock.
To Lien, music has always been about building narratives and the ten stories contained here are among the most alluring and atmospherically dense he's composed. These compositions never just feed from nostalgia, but always explore the magic of the current moment as well - and, in doing so, take their audience on a veritable trip.
