Sunday Morning Jazz Album

Sunday morning is when the serenity comes down.  Sunday morning is the cocoon from the heavy exhaustion of too much Saturday night fun.  Sunday morning is when the city agrees to use its inside voice.  Sunday morning is when a hush settles in over the land.  It is a time for sitting still and listening to quiet music and silently praying the aspirin and coffee do something to stop your head from exploding.  Drama and stress are strictly forbidden on Sunday morning.  Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album is just for you, for times just like these.

Hans Lüdemann is one of the more expressive musicians on the scene.  A melody guided by the pianist’s hands will possess a liveliness that resonates like mad.  And considering that he has a delivery that could be described as laid-back, the music’s strength is all that much more remarkable.  That’s why it’s particularly illuminating to hear Lüdemann is a solo environment on the 2015 release Das reale Klavier – Ein Kölner Konzert, and discover that those same qualities exist in isolation, and that they’re not simply the result of the the incalculable cause-and-effect of ensemble collaborations.

Recorded in 2013 at a live performance at LOFT Köln , Lüdemann goes about his business of crafting sharp melodies and then elaborating upon them endlessly.  The actual doses vary, but there’s a solemn tone to all of it.  “Arabesque” enters a deep state of introspection, and the wobbly melodicism of “Ankunft” has a contemplative nature to it, as well.  But it’s not an album completely lost in thought.  “Rollended Steine” blends in a rag and some thick blues along the way, and tracks like “Blaue Kreise” and the two-part “Präludium” both add some dissonance through the odd tuning of Lüdemann’s virtual piano or just via his expressive technique.  But more often than not, it’s tracks like “Heartbeats” and “Love Confessions,” with their sunny disposition and calm demeanor, that represent what this album is all about.

You need this album today, right now.

• Artist-Title:  Hans Lüdemann – Das reale Klavier;Ein Kölner Konzert
  
• Personnel:  Hans Lüdemann (piano, virtual piano).
• Proper Use:  1) Staring out the window at a city still asleep, 2) Music to accompany the slow, gentle effects of coffee upon your head and your soul, 3) Acting in the role of human pillow for your dozing cat(s).

Released in 2015 on BMC Records.

Listen to more of the album on the artist’s Soundcloud page.

Music from Hamburg, Germany.

Available at:  Amazon | eMusic

Sunday morning is when the serenity comes down.  Sunday morning is the cocoon from the heavy exhaustion of too much Saturday night fun.  Sunday morning is when the city agrees to use its inside voice.  Sunday morning is when a hush settles in over the land.  It is a time for sitting still and listening to quiet music and silently praying the aspirin and coffee do something to stop your head from exploding.  Drama and stress are strictly forbidden on Sunday morning.

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album is just for you, for times just like these.  If you possess the freakish compulsion to get-up-and-go when the clock strikes Sunday morning, this music is not for you.  Go and listen to a Spotify EDM playlist or something.  But whatever you decide, just do it quietly and far away from those of us who appreciate the true solemn nature of a Sunday morning.

Erik Lindeborg has a habit of creating music perfectly suited for peaceful Sunday mornings, and no better example is to be had than his 2012 release Salonul Magic.  The Stockholm-based pianist proved his talent at crafting captivating melodies on his 2010 trio session Time… an album that smouldered with tension, as if it could erupt at any moment.  On Salonul Magic, the melodies and tone are more laid back and behave as folk tunes rather than Nordic jazz.  It makes for a more personable recording, and allows for more of the melodic details to shine through.

Yes, “Part V” and “Part VIII” kick the temperature up a notch, but the heat is a fireplace warmth and conducive to a Sunday morning serenity.  This, too, applies to the sunny blues of “Part VI,” and serves as a nice reminder of how the classic Red Garland Trio tranquility keeps inspiring new generations of jazz musicians.  But the remainder of the album’s ten pieces develop with a comforting patience.  Whether that’s triggered by the gorgeous bass arco passages from Niklas Wennström or the friendly chatter of percussionist Robert Mehmet Ikiz, it all leads to an atmosphere that looks to blend in with a morning sunrise and a quiet, solemn afternoon.

You need this album today, right now.

• Artist-Title:  Erik Lindeborg – Salonul Magic
  
• Personnel:  Erik Lindeborg (piano, melodica, glockenspiel), Niklas Wennström (bass), Robert Mehmet Ikiz (percussion) and guests: Magdalena Adeen (voice), Steinar Aadnekvam (guitar).
• Proper Use:  1) Daydreaming about the peaceful ambiance of snow-capped mountains, and how nice it is to be in a nice, cozy bed on a Sunday morning, 2) Contemplating whether anything better has ever been created than a cup of coffee & Irish cream or, 3) Listening to your cat(s) snore peacefully beside you, scrunched up against your leg.

Released in 2012 on Stockholm Jazz Records.

Music from Stockholm, Sweden.

Available at:  Amazon | eMusic

And here’s a video that shows the making of the album cover image.  It features the art of Diana Butucariu and is accompanied by the album track “Part V.”