mats eilertsen trio – sails set

Hubro 2013

Mats Eilertsen   Bass
Thomas Strønen   Drums
Harmen Fraanje   Piano

track list

01.   Sails Set
02.   Stellar
03.   Orbiting
04.   Stray Dog
05.   The Lighthouse
06.   Monument
07.   Lunar Light
08.   Currents
09.   Stone and Sand
10.   Music Box
11.   Alone

press

“I rarely award 5 stars but Sails Set is so intelligently crafted and beautifully destilled that it is nigh on perfect”
Fred Gand, JazzJournal UK

“A fascinating glimpse into the creative well from which he pulls from”
“An album that gives so much with so little and makes the ear crave just a little bit more”
www.birdistheworm.com

“They play what is needed when it is needed. Each idea, each nuance in the music, is an instant distillation of countless possibilities shaped to the requirements of the moment, so perhaps it comes as no surprise that what emerges is often profound and always rich in meaning”
Stuart Nicholson, JazzWise Magazine

“The vastly experienced Eilertsen has a broad conception of what his instrument can achieve, and his colleagues (fellow Norwegian Thomas Strønen on drums and young Dutch pianist Harmen Fraanje) are equally expansive, creating short studies in rhythm and texture that sail past the orthodoxies of piano trio playing.”
Cormac Larkin, the Irish Times

“That Sails Set seems filled with purposeful intent and sense of structure simply means Eiltertsen’s trio is looking to create music and not just aimless meandering. Sails Set represents palpable growth and even deeper empathy amongst the members of Eilertsen’s trio. There may be no charts, but this ship clearly knows where it’s going.”
John Kelman, AllAboutJazz

“Kaptein Eilertsen set segl”
“Mats Eilertsen har mange jarn i elden, og han leier meir enn eitt av Norges beste jazzband. Utruleg vakre songar…  ….med sterkt resultat.”
R. Helgheim, Dagsavisen

“Denne trioen leverer kollektive improvisasjoner med en uvanleg idérikdom og formsans”
“Plata har knapt ein likegyldig augneblink”
L.Mossafinn, Dag og Tid  

“Vi får høre tre glimrende musikere og i flere passasjer når de en høyere enhet som resulterer i vakker, inspirert og energisk musikk”
T. Lundemo, Adressa

“Bassist Eilertsen has concocted an intriguing album, and he achieves it through some seriously delicate subtleties. He’s joined by pianist Harmen Fraanje and drummer Thomas Stronen (recently a Jazz Pick with his duo Food with Iain Ballamy). For the most part, this is a series of short tracks, almost like a parade of interludes, and each give brief glimpses of restrained beauty. Stronen’s percussion is often unexpected, and it’s his surprising choices that prevents this album from ever getting sleepy. An album that shimmers with emotion, and keeps some of that emotion hidden, which, ultimately, leads to much of this album’s intrigue. Just a beautiful recording. Recommended.”
Dave Sumner, E.music.com

En betagande stund av fängslande musik
Det finns pianister och andra musiker som på ett mycket skickligt och känsligt sätt omfamnat tystnadens karaktär, men det är sällsynt att höra någon göra det så konsekvent och distinkt som Harmen Fraanje.
Mats Eilertsen är en alldeles utmärkt kontrabassist, ett lyssnande komplement till Fraanje då han hellre håller inne med en ton och en klang för att höja spänningen ytterligare. Han dröjer, avväger och siktar, och när han till sist släpper iväg tonen har han noga hunnit ta ut riktningen, och den landar som en perfekt pil i musikens bull’s eye.
Peter Sjöblom, Tidningen Kulturen

“Das Mats Eilertsen Trio setzt sich aus dem norwegischen Bassisten Mats Eilertsen, dem SchlagzeugerThomas Strønen und dem niederländischen Pianisten Harmen Fraanje zusammen. Dessen Piano bildet den klanglichen Mittelpunkt des neuen Albums »Sails Set«. Ruhig und tiefsinnig, so lässt sich am besten der erste Eindruck beim Hören beschreiben. Besonders auffallend ist dabei, dass es sich um ein >>improvisiertes Album« handelt. lmprovisation gehört zwar zum Jazz wie der Dirigent zu einem klassischen Orchester, doch selten gelingt es so genial, das Resultat in all seiner Spontanität und Grenzenlosigkeit zu einem Album zusammenzufassen. »Sails Set« ist ein sehr entspanntes, musikalisch stimmiges Werk, bei dem leder Musiker seine persönlichen Momente hat, ohne sich jedoch mit seinem lnstrument zu sehr in den Vordergrund zu dringen. Trotzdem ist es gerade das Klavier, das die Leichtigkeit des Klangs trägt”
Nordis 5/6