JULIA HÜLSMANN “While I Was Away”

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ARTIST

Julia Hülsmann

ALBUM TITLE

“While I Was Away”

LABEL

ECM

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Julia Hülsmann does not stand still – she doubles down. After a trilogy of quartet albums – beginning in 2019 with “Not Far From Here”, continuing three years later with “The Next Door”, and reaching its conclusion a few months ago with “Under the Surface” – she now shifts direction. Drawing on her Central European roots and a cultivated approach to the language of improvisation, the refined Bonn-based pianist reshuffles the cards and sets herself a new challenge, embracing all the risks that entails.

In “While I Was Away”, she assembles an unusual octet with an overwhelming female majority – the only male presence being vocalist Michael Schiefel. The stated aim is to experiment, broaden horizons, and break down barriers between genres, bringing together a jazz trio with a classical one (piano, violin, and cello). These forces converge in support of three vocalists, markedly different yet complementary: the aforementioned Schiefel, the Norwegian Live Maria Roggen, and the Angolan Aline Frazão.

Indeed, Hülsmann’s new release may be described as a song album – albeit an unconventional one. The ten tracks move between the world of musical theatre and contemporary recitative (as in “Iskele”), refined pop-rock (notably the chamber-like reworking of “Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up”, a small gem from the catalogue of American singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco, sensitively delivered by Schiefel), and Brazil (the introspective “Hora Azul”, recalling certain pages by Villa-Lobos and late-period Jobim, alongside the lively “Coisário de Imagens” by Rosanna Tavares and Zélia Fonseca).

The lyrics at times draw on the poetry of Emily Dickinson and Margaret Atwood, as well as the words of poets such as e.e. cummings. Among the most successful and open-breathed moments of the album is the dancing “TicToc”, where all three singers appear together.

Hülsmann delivers a work that may not appeal to everyone, but which undoubtedly confirms her as one of the most rigorous and original artists on the European scene.

Ivo Franchi

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