Celebration Arild Andersen

• 1 May Dance 06:26
• 2 Molde Canticle, Part 1 08:51
• 3 Crystal Silence 10:04
• 4 Ulrikas Dans 11:14
• 5 Independency, Part 4 16:59
• 6 My Song 08:08
• Total Runtime 01:01:42

Info for Celebration

Bassist Arild Andersen shines as the principal soloist in a celebration of music from ECM with specially-commissioned new big-band arrangements of well-known pieces by Dave Holland, Chick Corea, Trygve Seim, Jan Garbarek, and Keith Jarrett. The resourceful Tommy Smith adds powerful tenor solos, arranges Garbarek’s “Molde Canticle”, and directs the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. Andersen’s composition “Independency” is a 16-minute highlight, in a sensitive and powerful arrangement by Mike Gibbs. Other contributing arrangers are Makoto Ozone, Christian Jacob, Geoff Keezer and Trygve Seim/Øyvind Bræke: all of them contribute sterling work, and their arrangements are likely to enter modern jazz’s big band repertory book. Recorded live at Glasgow’s Royal Conservatory, “Celebration” is a highly attractive album for a broad listenership, and as a statement about music introduced by ECM will be of special interest to long-time followers of the label.

The double-bass of Arild Andersen, for more than four decades an integral part of the sound of ECM, is heard for the first time as the lead voice in large ensemble arrangements of music associated with the label, on an album recorded live at Glasgow’s Royal Conservatoire. Under the direction of Tommy Smith, the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, with Andersen as principal soloist, plays “May Dance” by Dave Holland, “Molde Canticle” by Jan Garbarek, “Crystal Silence” by Chick Corea, “Ulrikas Dans” by Trygve Seim, Arild’s’s own “Independency”, and “My Song” by Keith Jarrett.

The project had its genesis in 2009 when ECM’s 40th anniversary inspired a number of tributes and festivals around the world. Tenorist Tommy Smith, who had been playing extensively with Arild in Andersen’s trio (see “Live At Belleville”), proposed a special event with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, the big band he had founded in 1995. The orchestra is renowned both for its own programmes and for themed collaborations with guests (recent instances including Gary Burton playing Wayne Shorter’s music with the SNJO, and John Scofield playing Electric Miles).

Arild Andersen: “Tommy asked me if I could imagine a project to celebrate ECM, with me as the soloist up front with a full rhythm section, including a second bassist, behind me. We began to think about how that could work, and discussed the choice of material. I soon decided that I wanted to put the emphasis on strongly melodic compositions which would sound good on the bass…” With a provisional selection made, they reached out to the exceptional international pool of arrangers associated with Smith and the SNJO. All pieces here are newly arranged specifically for this project. There are some strikingly original approaches to the material. We hear “Crystal Silence” imaginatively arranged by Makoto Ozone, the Japanese pianist who played alongside Smith in Gary Burton’s quartet in the 1980s (see “Whiz Kids”, ECM 1329). Smith himself arranges Part 1 of Jan Garbarek’s “Molde Canticle”, one highly distinctive saxophone player communing with the melodic imagination of another.

“The project developed like a little history of music on ECM,” Andersen says, “and although the pieces are very different in terms of expression there are also some melodic and atmospheric similarities. I think ‘Molde Canticle’ and ‘Crystal Silence’, for instance, go alongside each other very well.”

If most of the solo space is negotiated, creatively, by Arild, Tommy Smith also has some muscular and incisive solos of his own on the disc – as is immediately evident from the opening ”May Dance”, Dave Holland’s tune from the first Gateway album, reworked in a tight arrangement by Christian Jacob, another Burton alumnus. Arild: “I’d always liked this piece of Dave’s, with its odd metres, and in fact I’d played it in my own groups in the 1990s. I like the way this arrangement takes off from the first moment. I was surprised but pleased when Manfred suggested it as the opening piece for the album. ECM albums quite often slowly establish their atmosphere. This one is right in your face straight away…” The rhythmic understanding that this large ensemble reveals here is testimony to fifteen years of extensive work under Smith’s direction. (Furthermore, Andersen, Smith and powerhouse SNJO drummer Alyn Cosker have also worked in trio together…)

Particular pieces presented particular challenges. Arild had several talks with fellow Norwegian Trygve Seim while the saxophonist was reworking “Ulrikas Dans” (first heard on Seim’s “Different Rivers” disc): “We’d picked it because it was attractively spacey. As Trygve went over it, together with his trombonist friend [Øyvind Brække], it became more complex – and finally quite a challenge for the big band – after the two of them had added a lot more counterpoint lines.” Conversely, Arild’s own “Independency IV”, (from the “Independency Suite” premiered on “Live At Belleville”) is sparsely arranged by Michael Gibbs, with extensive solo space for Andersen, at first moving through shifting clouds of chords, progressing onwards to free exchanges with Smith’s saxophones, moving into jaunty time-playing: this 17-minute performance is the album’s centerpiece. The disc concludes with one of the best-known of contemporary jazz compositions, Keith Jarrett’s “My Song”. Arild: “The original is such a classic recording. In our version you have the bass playing solo, with double-stops, very close to the melody. What’s happening around the melody is very different, but on the double-bass I’m attempting to keep to the spirit and the emotional feeling of Keith’s piano playing.”

Arild Andersen, double bass
Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, directed by Tommy Smith
Martin Kershaw, clarinet, soprano and alto saxophones
Paul Towndrow, alto saxophone
Tommy Smith, flute, tenor saxophone
Konrad Wiszniewski, tenor saxophone
Bill Fleming, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone
Ryan Quigley, trumpet, flugelhorn
Cameron Jay, trumpet, flugelhorn
Richard Iles, trumpet, flugelhorn
Tom MacNiven, trumpet, flugelhorn
Chris Greive, trombone
Phil O’Malley, trombone
Michael Owers, trombone
Lorna McDonald, bass trombone, tuba
Steve Hamilton, piano
Calum Gourlay, double_bass
Alyn Cosker, drums

Recorded live October 2010
at Stevenson Hall, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Recording Engineer: Mark McKellen
Edited and mixed by Tommy Smith, Arild Andersen, Manfred Eicher and Jan Erik Kongshaug (engineer) at Rainbow Studio, September 2011
Album produced by Manfred Eicher

Arild Andersen
Born in Norway October 27 -1945 . He has been one of Europe’s leading bass player for more than 30 years. Andersen started out as a member of Jan Garbarek Quartet(67-73) . The group also included Terje Rypdal and Jon Christensen.In the same period he also worked with Norwegian singer Karin Krog and played in the rhythm section for visiting American musicians such as; Phil Woods, Dexter Gordon, Hampton Hawes, Johnny Griffin, Sonny Rollins, and Chick Corea. He also worked with Don Cherry and George Russell in this years.

In 1972-74 he visited New York several times and worked with Stan Getz Quartet, Sam Rivers trio, Sheila Jordan, Steve Kuhn and Paul Bley. In 1974 Arild Andersen formed his own quartet. The band toured Scandinavia and Europe and recorded 3 albums for ECM with this band. He also had a band together with singer Radka Toneff in the late 70-ties and early 80-ties.

In 1980 Arild Andersen put together a band that included Kenny Wheeler,Paul Motian,and Steve Dobrogosz(Lifelines-ECM). In -81 he had a band with Alphonse Mouzon, Bill Frisell and John Taylor (A Molde Concert ,ECM). This band also toured Europe in -83, this time with John Abercrombie on guitar.

Andersen Quintet» with Jon Christensen dr. Jon Balke p, Tore Brunborg sax, Nils Petter Molvær tp. The band changed name later to «Masqualero». This band was in the forefront of European jazz for 10 years ,the last years as quartet without piano. Masqualero toured USA, Canada, East and West Europe and made four albums ,one for the Norwegian label «Odin » and three for ECM. Three of the albums won the Norwegian «Grammy»award.

Arild Andersen released in 1993 a trio recording with Ralph Towner and Nana Vasconcelos,»If You Look Far Enough» on ECM.

Over the last years Arild Andersen has also spent time investing the possibility of combining traditional Norwegian folk music with improvised music. He started in 1988 a collaboration with singer Kirsten Braaten Berg, one of the leading artists in Norwegian folk music. This lead to the successful work «Sagn» premiered in -90 and performed more than 40 times including Town Hall, New York, Germany and Scandinavia. «Sagn» was recorded -91 on The Norwegian label «Kirkelig Kulturverksted» and later released on ECM. In 93 he premiered a new work called «Arv», also recorded on Kirkelig Kulturverksted.

In 1994 he wrote music for a theatre version on the Nobel prized trilogy «Kristin Lavransdatter» by Sigrid Undset. This also lead to several performances of the concert version of the music and a recording for Kirkelig Kulturverksted. Arild Andersens work » Hyperborean» , commissioned by » The Molde International Jazz festival» premiered in 95 .This was a 9-piece band including the Norwegian string quartet Cikada. The music was recorded in October-96 and was released in September 1997 by ECM.

1998 he formed a trio together with German trumpeter Markus Stockhausen and French percussion-player Patrice Heral. This trio+ Terje Rypdal as a guest, made a CD called ”Karta”, released sept 2000 by ECM.

1999 Andersen started a trio with English drummer John Marshall and the Greek piano player Vassilis Tsabroupolos. They released two cd’s on ECM, Achirana 2000 and The Triangle 2004.

In 2001 he played concerts at The Molde International Jazz Festival with Pat Metheney who was ”Artist in Recidence” and Norwegian drummer Paal Nilsen-Love.

June 2002 he premiered the music to Sophocles Greek Drama ” Electra ” at the Herodes Theater in Athens. This performance was a part of the Athens Olympic Games cultural issue. The cd of the music was released as ”Electra” by ECM 2005.

In 2004 he started a colaboration with Hungarian Gutarist Ference Snetberger which led to a Quartet recording ”Joyosa” 2004 and a Trio Recording ”Nomad” 2005.

In 2002 he became a member of the Dahl/Andersen/Heral trio which recorde two cd’s for Stunt records in Denmark . ”The Sign” and ”Moonwater”.

In 2005 Arild Andersen was ”Artist in Residence” at The Molde Jazz festical with 5 concerts during the week including one Soloconcert, Electra, Snetberger trio and a special project with Kudsi Ergunner and Nana Vasconcelos.

In 2005 he also wrote a commission work for a duo with Saxophonist Tommy Smith. This was called ”Independency” and led to the formation of his new trio with Paolo Vinaccia on drums and Tommy Smith on saxophone. This trio made a live recording at the club Belleville in Oslo autumn 2007. It was released 2008 on ECM ”Live at Belleville”. It got raving reviews around the world and this trio is Arild Andersens main project these days with concerts around the world.

Arild Andersen received ” Prix du Musicien Européen” 2008 from the ”Academie du Jazz” in France.

In 2010 he visited Japan for the first time and his trio was claimed by the Japan press to be the highlight of the ”Tokyo International Jazzfestival 2010”.

In october 2010 he did four concerts with Scottish National Jazz Orchestra under direction of Tommy Smith . The music was a celebration of ECM with songs recorded on the lable over the years like Keith Jarrett´s My Song, Chick Corea´s Crystal Silence , Dave Holland´s May Dance and more.

The Glasgow concert was released on ECM spring 2012 called » Celebration».

January 2014 he released «MIRA» on ECM a new cd with his trio with Paolo Vinaccia and Tommy Smith.

March 2018 he released a Live trio recording in Austria » In House Science» on ECM.

Booklet for Celebration