Label: ECM Records, 2022

Personnel - Uli Kempendorff: tenor saxophone; Julia Hulsmann: piano; Marc Muellbauer: double bass; Heinrich Kobberling: drums.

The Julia Hulsmann Quartet is one of the most reliable jazz projects that hails from Germany. The pianist reassembles her excellent quartet for The Next Door, the follow-up to the well-received Not Far From Here (ECM, 2019), after spending considerable time on tour with them. The program consists of originals by each of the members plus a sweet rendition of “Sometimes it Snows in April” by Prince, here expressed with a similar unpressurized atmosphere that characterizes the original version.

Delicately churning, “Empty Hands” feels like a rainy dawn illuminated by a golden ray of light. A hopeful 14-beat piano ostinato gives it a solid texture, and the statements from Hulsmann - who composed it - and saxophonist Uli Kempendorff toggle between winding and breathable. The pianist also wrote the following piece, “Made of Wood”, which, denoting a less floaty quality, is underlined by a nicely swinging flow that recalls Carla Bley and Steve Swallow. Exhibiting discipline in the composition and intuition in the interplay, “Fluid”, another highlight by Hulsmann, sounds exactly as the title suggests. It goes from rubato to polyrhythmic to expandable, invariably driven by a powerful sense of communication.

A definitive testament to the empathy among the group members is Kempendorf’s “Open Up”, a slippery, chromatically agile post-bop-meets-avant-jazz number with a notated bass part, classy swinging quality, and angular deflection. I’m pretty sure the result would please as much Joe Lovano as Anthony Braxton.

“Post Post Post” arrives by the pen of drummer Heinrich Kobberling, playing like a nocturne while interlacing poignant and delicate tones with a sextuple meter feel. In turn, “Wasp at the Window” features bassist Marc Muellbauer in an intervallic-wise bass intro, before pinning a supple groove in nine that, occasionally speeding up, shields the whole piece. Besides the tune I just mentioned, the bassist also contributes the pacifying “Valdemossa”, a piece based on the harmony of Chopin’s “Prelude no. 4 in E minor”. With a refreshing new melody navigating the chords, the song invites us to picture agreeable landscapes filled with abundant color.

Whether compressing or loosening up elements, the music of Hulsmann and her peers is a strikingly precise affair.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Empty Hands ► 08 - Open Up ► 11 - Fluid

Label: ECM Records, 2019

Personnel - Uli Kempendorff: tenor saxophone; Julia Hülsmann: piano; Marc Muellbauer: acoustic bass; Heinrich Köbberling: drums.

German pianist Julia Hülsmann releases her third quartet album on the ECM label with a significant alteration in the ensemble’s lineup. Saxophonist Uli Kempendorff replaces trumpeter Tom Arthurs, leaving a strong impression through consistent thematic developments uttered with pacifying timbres and noir escapes, or getting the shape of fluid phrases that ramp up the flux of emotions. Remaining undivided for 17 years, the rhythm includes bassist Marc Muellbauer and drummer Heinrich Köbberling.

The 13-track album includes five compositions by Hülsmann and two disparate versions of David Bowie’s 1985 hit “This is Not America”. Kempendorff, Muellbauer and Köbberlingand contribute two compositions each to an album that will put the pianist on the map again.

The set opens with "The Art of Failing", a cautious sax/piano duet and one of the examples where the musical empathy between the two musicians in question is underlined. They embark on parallel lines on Muellbauer’s “Le Mistral”, a strong effort smoothly introduced by solo piano before segueing into a dissimulated odd pulse that results from the combination of a bass groove and brushed drums. Hülsmann's radiating comping is pretty effective during Kempendorff’s intense statement.

The spacey rendition of Bowie’s “This is Not America” is still permeated with some tension with bass and saxophone sharing responsibilities in the melodic articulation of the theme. The shorter solo piano version of this same tune closes out the album with more desolation than aspiration.

Other two pieces that achieve a wider emotional spectrum are Kempendorff’s “Einschub”, a soaring anthem brimming with rich rhythmic connectivity, and the bandleader’s “No Game”, where the band delves into post-bop sophistication with both explorative and swinging postures. The rich harmonic progression assists in bringing textural freshness without detaching from tradition, in the sense that the group delivers something new yet familiar. Like the latter tune, “Weit Weg” and “Streiflich” are expansions of originally solo piano pieces. Yet, they differ drastically in the mood. While the former is imbued in an introspective stillness, the latter advances assertively with wide steps and some classical cultivation, benefitting from gorgeous saxophone hooks.

Hülsmann composed the title track, “Not Far From Here”, specifically for this quartet and the melody stands out on top of an elegant rhythm that carries a breezy bossa vibe. In the track’s denouement, Kempendorff focuses on timbre at the same time that explores extended techniques.

These four egoless artists are here for the music and to make it sound cohesive as a whole rather than take individual praise for their actions. It’s great to realize that from one track to another, the group shifts mood without losing any of its musical identity.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Le Mistral ► 07 - No Game ► 08 - Einschub