Adam Baldych & Helge Lien Trio - Bridges (2015)

The virtuosity of Polish violinist Adam Baldych enables him to pass with astonishing ease through all kinds of borders: the boundaries of his instrument, the barriers between genres, the seams between composing and improvising. These dividing lines fall away as his playing coalesces with that of his fellow musicians. He uses the tradition as the point of departure for new and exploratory journeys up and away beyond jazz.These attributes have led Jazzwise to call him 'a refreshingly different European jazz star'. For 'Bridges', Polish violinist Baldych has the Norwegian pianist Helge Lien and his trio by his side. The piano trio's leanings over the course of eight albums are towards the trio tradition from Esbjörn Svensson up to Brad Mehldau, and yet the way they experiment both with the American heritage and Nordic sound-atmospherics is not just their own, it also reaches back into the lineage of the European late romantic classical music, to Debussy, or even to Chopin. As each of the eleven pieces on this album emerges from silence - and almost always returns to it - they cast an almost hypnotic spell. The album concludes with a sensational version of 'Teardrop' by trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack. As with the whole album, the bridge Baldych has built can serve as an inspiration. 'This album is one of those collaborations that really works.' **** Jazzwise (August)

Tracklist:

01. Bridges (3:26)
02. Polesie (4:52)
03. Mosaic (7:26)
04. Riese (5:55)
05. Dreamer (4:31)
06. Requiem (3:41)
07. Karina (5:13)
08. Missing You (5:04)
09. Up (4:27)
10. Lovers (5:34)
11. Teardrop (4:49)
12. Quaderno primo, Gli intervalli: I. Sulle corde a vuoto (2:28)

Personnel:

Adam Bałdych / violin
Helge Lien / piano
Frode Berg / bass
Per Oddvar Johansen / drums