Libera Me (Remastered reissues) Lars Danielsson with Nils Petter Molvaer

• 1Asta05:39
• 2Suffering06:39
• 3The Teacher02:50
• 4Newborn Broken feat. Caecilie Norby05:35
• 5Libera Me07:20
• 6Shimmering06:01
• 7Granada06:29
• 8Both Sides Now03:15
• 9Forever You04:04
• 10Bird Through the Wall02:13
• 11Cornelia06:48
• 12Asnah07:24
• Total Runtime01:04:17

Info for Libera Me (Remastered reissues)

With this debut release on ACT by Swedish bassist and composer Lars Danielsson, the label starts a new series. It will please not just the usual jazz lovers used to a high musical quality, but also high-end music fans who want to appreciate music in its most up-to-date technical quality.

This new series will continue in Autumn 2004 with reissues of ACT classics such as 'Europeana' and 'Jazzpana II'. For the first release, label boss Siegfried Loch 'cannot envisage a better production to start with': Danielsson does not just play bass and creates with special guests a broad sound world, but also uses the sound capability of a symphony orchestra to great effect.

Lars Danielsson, born in 1958, is a musician with particularly broad interests. At the conservatoire in Göteborg he studied initially classical cello, before changing to bass and to jazz. As bassist - where he can be heard also on the successful CD 'Sentimental Journey' of trombonist and singer Nils Landgren (ACT 9409-2) - he has a uniquely rounded sound, which is as lyrical as powerful and brings a breathtaking virtuosity of a unique performer. On this SACD he also plays cello, piano and guitar. Danielsson, who has worked with jazz greats from Michael Brecker to Charles Lloyd, showed the many sides of his ability not least as 'Artist in Residence' at the 'Strings Of Fire' Festival at the Leipzig Gewandhaus and at the JazzBaltica Festival in 2004.

His highly-developed creativity in many disciplines is clearly set out on this album, yet unostentatiously. In twelve pieces, including the title track, an instrumental version 'Libera Me' (Deliver me), the sixth movement of the Requiem by French composer Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924), the album makes one realize that we have here an instrumentalist of the best quality, a highly competent orchestrator and composer of wonderful memorable melodies - as well as being a leader with a great awareness of the qualities of other musicians. The sinuous soprano saxophone lines of Dave Liebman, the melancholy tones of trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer, the voice of Cæcilie Norby but also the samples of Jan Bang, are all brought together in a particularly sensitive and harmonious manner.

With the bass as the central pivot and the dazzling grandeur of the orchestra, Danielsson leads one here through the most varied sound worlds. In the magically lyrical introductory piece 'Asta' he pays homage to his youngest daughter, while 'The Teacher' (Track 3), a wonderful piece for bass and drums, is dedicated to his bass teacher Anders Jormin. The quiet expressiveness of the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt formed the inspiration for 'Shimmering' (Track 6), a 'Meditation in D flat minor'. Memories of the Alhambra, the most famous moorish palace, are represented in 'Granada', written for solo bass, solo cello and orchestra (Track 7), while he translates 'Both Sides Now' by Joni Mitchell, one of the most effectively lyrical folk songs of the late 20th century into a glamourously eloquent version for his deep-voiced instrument (Track 8). In 'Bird Through The Wall' (Track 10), a rainforest meditation, Danielsson also plays marimba, and through the way in which he hits the metal plates engrossed sounding instrument, the celeste. 'Cornelia' (Track 11), originally commissioned by the Metropole Orchestra in Holland for bass and orchestra, could be considered the 'most classical' composition on this album, while the bonus track 'Asnah' reflects the most contemporary influences - with cello loops, sampled sounds, a spare Nordic trumpet sound and vocal percussion.

'For me it was always natural to bind my own music with the sounds of classical music', notes Danielsson about the repertoire on this album. His objective in orchestration he describes as follows: 'When I arrange, I think more about the approach that classical composers would take for voicings, rather than jazz arrangers.' As his absolute favourite arranger he picks Claus Ogerman, another who is equally at home in classical and jazz environments (and took part in Diana Krall’s successful release 'The Look Of Love'). Meanwhile for playing and composing he is particularly inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach, 'the master of the walking bass'.

With 'Libera me' Lars Danielsson stands not between, but rather, through his heart and his bass, totally absorbed in the various musical worlds of his career to date. All comes together to created an organic rounded whole - in which it is quickly clear that the orchestra is not just an accessory. A musical self-portrait in many colours. Mit diesem ACT-Debüt des schwedischen Bassisten und Komponisten Lars Danielsson eröffnet das Label eine neue Serie, die sowohl den traditionellen Jazzfreunden mit gewohnt hohem musikalischen Niveau, wie auch den absoluten High-End-Musikfans gerecht wird, die Musik in modernster technischer Qualität genießen möchten.

Lars Danielsson, acoustic bass, cello, piano, guitar
Jon Christensen, drums, percussion
Nils Petter Molvaer, trumpet
Xavier Desandre Navarre, percussion
David Liebman, soprano saxophone
Anders Kjellberg, cymbals
Jan Bang, samples
Carsten Dahl, piano
Tobias Sjögren, guitar
DR Danish Radio Concert Orchestra
Frans Rasmussen, conductor
Special Guest:
Cæcilie Norby, vocals (on “Newborn Broken”)

Recorded by Jan Erik Kongshaug at Rainbow Studio Oslo between January 2003 and May 2004
Danish Radio Studio Copenhagen by Peter Juul Kristensen
Swedish Radio Studio 12 Gothenburg by Lars Nilsson and Jonas Sandwall
Nilento Studios by Lars Nilsson
Tia Dia Studios by Lars Danielsson
Studio Pantin Plage by Suzanne Desandre-Navarre
Mixed and Mastered by Lars Nilsson at Nilento Studios, Gothenburg, May 2004
Produced by Lars Danielsson
Co-Produced by Lars Nilsson

Digitally remastered

Lars Danielsson
Swedish bassist, cellist, composer and arranger Lars Danielsson is renowned and admired throughout the International jazz world for his lyrical playing and strong groove.

Lars Danielsson, born in 1958, is a musician with particularly broad interests. At the conservatory in Gothenburg he studied initially classical cello, before changing to bass and to jazz. As bassist he has a uniquely rounded sound, which is as lyrical as powerful and brings a breathtaking virtuosity of a unique performer.

The 'Lars Danielsson Quartet' with former Miles Davis saxophonist David Liebman, pianist Bobo Stenson and legendary ECM drummer Jon Christensen has received a lot of recognition and numerous awards during the 18 years of its existence. Danielsson has released ten solo-albums since 1980 with his quartet and guests such as Alex Acuña and John Abercrombie. The Quartet has been a testing ground for Danielsson’s work as a composer and arranger, which has extended over the last years to include both Symphony Orchestra and Big Band music. He has worked with Denmark’s Radio Concert Orchestra as well as the JazzBaltica Ensemble as a composer, arranger and producer.

Lars Danielsson has worked with: Randy and Michael Brecker, John Scofield, Jack DeJohnette, Mike Stern, Billy Hart, Charles Lloyd, Terri Lyne Carrington and Dave Kikoski. Lars Danielsson has also been a member of the 'Trilok Gurtu Group'.

As a producer, Lars Danielsson has been responsible for productions with Cæcilie Norby, Jonas Johansen, the Danish Radio Concert Orchestra and Viktoria Tolstoy.

Danielsson showed the many sides of his ability not least as 'Artist in Residence' at the 'Strings Of Fire' Festival at the Leipzig Gewandhaus and at the JazzBaltica Festival in 2004. In the same year he was invited to play with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra in Vilnius where he made two concerts as a soloist with his own music.

In 2007, he received a commission for a piece with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra featuring himself as a soloist together with Leszek Możdżer. He has received also a commission from the NDR Big Band and Wolfgang Haffner to write a piece for the JazzBaltica Festival 2007, as well as being booked for a project with the Symphony Orchestra in St. Petersburg with Vytas Sondeckis and Bugge Wesseltoft.

The 2008 release of Pasodoble (ACT 9458-2) in Poland was followed by a sales of more than 10.000 CDs and a subsequent Platinum Record Award. In April 2008 Danielsson attended the World Bass Convention in Wrocław, Poland, where he performed with a symphony orchestra and gave workshops. At the 2008 Swedish Jazz Celebration he enthralled the public with a solo concert. In this same year he was a member of the star-studded ensemble on the Vince Mandoza CD Blauklang (ACT 9465-2). The project was performed at the Berlin Jazz Festival, and is nominated for a Grammy in the USA.

This album contains no booklet.