NEWS
On October 18, acclaimed saxophonist and composer Cecilie Grundt will release her second quartet album, 'Illuminate' on Grundt Records. Four years have passed since the quartet released its debut album, 'Order and Chaos', in 2020. This record is a documentation of where the band is musically right now, and their journey together as a group these last years. 'Illuminate' was recorded all in one day at Newtone Studio, Oslo, on March 7, 2024.
About this album
The album opens with 'Freely', a composition played with a free time, where the melody dictates the rhythm and the tempo. The song is inspired by Keith Jarrett’s American Quartet and Dewey Redman, among others. The second track is 'Jumpin' With Bobo'. It’s a swinging blues with small rhythmic invervals and motifs, inspired by Thelonious Monk Quartet and Maria Kannegaard. The next track is 'Lille Jacob Park', a jazz waltz inspired by Sonny Rollins and Barry Harris. The song is named after a small park in Grundt’s neighborhood in Oslo.
The fourth track is 'Nature Boy' by Eden Ahbez, one of two covers on this album. The song is arranged by pianist Storaas, and has a strong syncopated rhythmic groove with an Afro-Latin influence. The fifth track is ‘Circle Waltz’, a ballad by Grundt. The song has a form where the second part is a mirror image of the first, in other words, it is written a tritone away from the other, creating a seamless transition between the two parts.
Next is 'Sunday Blues', an original by Storaas which is inspired by Thelonious Monk and country music. The melody alternates between the piano and the tenor saxophone, with a suprising rhythmic twist at the end. The album closes with the quartet’s reinterpretation of 'The Night Has A Thousand Eyes', arranged by Grundt. It explores further some of the ideas of John Coltrane, using the three-tonic system for harmonic ornamentation of the jazz standard. A bass line and some different time signatures have also been added to the song.
Personnel
Cecilie Grundt / tenor sax
Vigleik Storaas / piano
David Andersson / bass
Frederik Villmow / drums
Track List
1 Freely / Cecilie Grundt
2 Jumpin' With Bobo / Cecilie Grundt
3 Lille Jacob Park / Cecilie Grundt
4 Nature Boy / Eden Ahbez
5 Circle Waltz / Cecilie Grundt
6 Sunday Blues / Vigleik Storaas
7 The Night Has A Thousand Eyes / Jerry Brainin
Album Credits
Recorded 7 March 2024 at Newtone Studio, Oslo
Mixed by Ingar Hunskaar
Mastered by Fridtjof Lindeman
Photo by Sigbjørn Berven from 9 March 2024 at JazzArkivet, Stavanger
Cover design by Cecilie Grundt
Produced by Cecilie Grundt
GRCD003 © ℗ 2024 Grundt Records
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