After two acclaimed trio albums (The End of a Summer and Imprint), pianist Julia H�lsmann proposes a different project for her third ECM release In Full View, motivated initially by a performance by Berlin-based, English trumpet and flugelhorn player Tom Arthurs: I found the music so beautiful that I asked him on the spot to collaborate...
Arthurs, who has worked with musicians including John Surman, John Taylor, Iain Ballamy, Thomas Str�nen, Jack DeJohnette and Kenny Wheeler, and cites influences ranging from Gy�rgy Ligeti to filmmakers Andrei Tarkovsky and Jean-Luc Godard, gladly accepted. After first rehearsals had established musical compatibility, H�lsmann called upon the services of her trusted rhythm section of Marc Muellbauer (double-bass) and Heinrich K�bberling (drums). Thus the Julia H�lmann Trio became the Julia H�lsmann Quartet - with a prominent role for Tom Arthurs as a strong new frontline voice that not only inspires Julia H�lsmann as player and arranger, but also had a stimulating effect on the composing activities within the quartet, with all members bringing compositions to the table.
The programme is rounded off by the additions of The Water from Canadian singer-songwriter Feist (I like these simple, clear melodies, with a totally unique charm says H�lsmann), Richtung Osten, penned by Heinrich K�bberling's wife Fumi Udo, and Manuel de Falla's Nana from the Siete Canciones Populares Espa�olas cycle of folk song arrangements.
German pianist Julia H�lsmann gave - for my taste - the best performance of her already enormously varied career. In trumpet player Tom Arthurs she has found a wonderful counterpart for her poetic ingenuity. - Ulrich Olshausen, reviewing the Julia H�lsmann Quartet at the M�nster Festival
Personnel: Julia H�lsmann (piano), Tom Arthurs (trumpet), Marc Muellbauer (double bass), Heinrich K�bberling (drums)
