Hello Troll Helge Lien Trio

• 1Gamut Warning04:41
• 2Axis of Free Will04:52
• 3Radio07:20
• 4Froozee05:03
• 5Diverted Dance06:51
• 6It is what it is, but it is07:28
• 7Halla Troll06:29
• 8Snurt04:50
• 9In the Wind somewhere05:37
• Total Runtime53:11

Info for Hello Troll

The first bars of the opener „Gamut Warning“ are carried by great discipline and an absolute relevance. Together with Lien’s dynamic phrasing and the trio’s instinctively sure interplay, they make you prick up your ears immediately. And the other tracks, like the the dramatic 'Axis Of Free Will', the highly romantic „Radio“, the fragile songs 'Diverted Dance' and 'It Is What It Is, But It Is', or the tricky but fiery piece 'Halla Troll' impressively demonstrate that a formation that masters the 'The Art Of The Trio' perfectly is presenting itself here.

A little like Macca, throwing himself into wedlock with Heather Mills so soon after Linda's death, it seems somehow just wrong to begin extolling the joys of yet another new Scandinavian piano trio. The sense of loss at Esbjorn Svensson's passing last year is still palpable. Surely to fall for another bunch of utterly tasteful, technically dazzling, modal merchants is just a tad fickle and unfaithful? Well, maybe, but unfortunately Hello Troll counters any such qualms by sheer dint of its brilliance. Face it, these guys are here to stay, and you WILL fall for them.

In fact, apart from the more ardent Norwegian watchers out there and a few Late Junction listeners you may not realise that pianist Helge Lien along with bass player Frode Berg and drummer Knut Aalefjær have been around for a fair while. Hello Troll is their sixth album in seven years and marks that crucial point where a band that know both their chops and each other finally ascend to a level of playing that on the surface looks easy and yet remains stunning.

The first couple of tracks do, in fact, put you in mind of the kind of fast-paced Jarrettisms that EST were so adept at, yet to call HLT derivative is a huge disservice. Lien's modal approach owes as much to the original source, Bill Evans, as it does any of his fellow near-countrymen. By track three (Radio) Berg's bowed bass propels this mysterious number into unknown territory. Like the cover image of a dark forest's interior, this is interior music made by men who, like most Norwegians, hold a deep respect for the pristine wilderness that surrounds them.

The dancier numbers here: Troozee, Diverted Dance or Snurt, contain enough catchy riffs to make them trusted friends upon repeated listens, while on Halla Troll Lien's use of dissonance is a fabulous counterpoint to the jagged time signature. By the gorgeous closing In The Wind Somewhere you've forgotten that there ever was an Esbjorn, Brad Meldhau, Tord Gustavsen or whoever. This is a world perfectly created by Lien and his pals. Get over it and just enjoy... (BBC Music, Chris Jones)

A little nation with a big jazz tradition is the land of fjords and trolls. Fascinating new artists and acts sporting a huge zest for playing and an irrepressible urge for experimentation keep pushing out of Norway to conquer the rest of the jazz world. The Helge Lien Trio, who have already won a large circle of fans in Scandinavia and Japan with their five albums and inspiring live concerts, are especially significant. They maintain the balance between jazz traditions and the avantgardist art of improvisation like hardly any other classic piano trio, par excellence.

Helge Lien, who besides his own trio project performs with other Norwegian acts like Silje Nergaard, has developed his very own unmistakeable style of trio playing with band colleagues Frode Berg (bass) and Knut Aalefjær (drums & percussion). With instinctive sureness, the musicians develop a „chamber music“ jazz that stands out through its harmonically complex tone colors. Building on Bill Evans’ lyrical power and the exhilaratingly melancholic playing of Esbjörn Svensson, Lien, in constant dialogue with Berg & Aalefjær, creates distinct moods on 'Hello Troll' – moods that he presents with ease.

Doubtlessly pianist Helge Lien, who is very skilled at playing to the gallery with his modal piano art, is one of the most exciting young talents in Scandinavia. After the honorable Dagbladet from Norway already described the forerunner CD 'To The Little Radio' as „the best Norwegian Piano Trio Album in a long time', we can be looking out for a similar reaction to their new longplayer. Playing their way into the hearts of a steadily growing circle of listeners with classic-impressionistic patterns and rhythmical-melodic jazz, this trio’s resourcefulness seems to truly know no bounds.

Booklet for Hello Troll