Emil Brandqvist Trio - “Layers Of Life ”
Emil Brandqvist Trio
The wait is over: Album No. 5 of the Emil Brandqvist Trio "Entering The Woods" is finished. The formation is certainly one of the few piano trios worldwide that have gained a continent-spanning audience through the constant development of their unique and recognizable band sound over the past years. With more than ten million streams for the single "I Miss You," they have been catapulted to the forefront, in North America it's the highly-listened playlists they appear on, in Japan they are linked to numerous compilations as a prime example of Scandinavian jazz, and in Germany their last album reached No. 3 on the Jazz charts. ECHO nominations and appearing on the Longlist of the German Record Critics' Award were further indications of their great acceptance, and most recently they thrilled not only on full club tours but also at major German jazz and classical festivals such as Movimentos Wolfsburg, Palatia Jazz / Rhineland-Palatinate, Elbjazz Hamburg, Beethovenfest in Bonn, or Jazz Baltica on the Baltic Sea. On the occasion of an appearance on the ZDF culture magazine "Aspekte," they were announced as "the most beautiful flower of the piano trio genre."
The secret of this trio lies in the rare gift of having developed a very unique sound, characterized by the intricate soundscapes of namesake Emil Brandqvist on drums and the subtly tapped, sometimes rapidly rolling neo-classicisms of the Finnish pianist Tuomas A. Turunen. The stoically driving force in the double bass playing of Max Thornberg gives the trio an unmistakable body. As usual, Emil Brandqvist is responsible for most compositions, but it is already a good tradition that Tuomas A. Turunen, who lives in southern France, also contributes compositionally.
Dappled drum accents and lush piano harmonies, notes that almost sparkle above the equally voluminous and subtle bass, sounds that invite you to dream and reflect on images. The Emil Brandqvist Trio succeeds in expanding the piano trio genre again and again with surprising twists: intricate rhythms are just as much part of the repertoire as uncompromising drumming and atmospheric harmonies. The result sounds like a mix of the dance of butterflies and a mad music box moving forward in ever new rotations.
In 2020, the trio will be on tour in Europe.
Press on "Within A Dream":
"Three musicians, three instruments, and a pure sound. [...] Within A Dream relies on intricate soundscapes and Nordic melancholy." 3Sat Kulturzeit "Sometimes the piano literally sings. As if it were softly and gently rocking a child to sleep - with a very simple, reduced melody. Then again, there is such a forward surge in the Emil Brandqvist Trio's music, such a
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