{"title":"Daniel Sommer","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"as-time-passes-2","title":"As Time Passes","description":"\u003cp\u003eA leading Norwegian bassist for over 30 years, ECM legend Arild Andersen forges promising relationships with two rising stars - Daniel Sommer (drums) and Rob Luft (guitar) in an expansive, playful exploration of song and collective improvisation. Led by Sommer, the release signifies the first chapter of the drummer's much-anticipated Nordic trilogy on April Records, aiming to capture and document Nordic improvisation and composition across three carefully curated ensembles. Bassist Arild Andersen's storied career stretches back to the 1970's as one of ECM's first recording artists, collaborating with household names of the genre including Jan Garbarek, Don Cherry, Bill Frisell, John Taylor, Sonny Rollins, Chick Corea, and the list goes on. Welcoming the opportunity to work with and nurture younger artists, the ensemble was born when Daniel Sommer selected Andersen for a project during his studies at the Danish National Academy of Music. Later, impressed by Luft's performances in Ireland and Norway, Andersen suggested expanding the pair into a trio. A transcendent musical voyage, 'As Time Passes' blurs the lines of conventional trio roles, and celebrates the evolution of jazz as a fluid, versatile form of expression. By providing each musician the freedom of becoming a key contributor in the melodic discourse, the trio channels the spirit of jazz veterans such as the Bill Evans Trio and free-jazz ensemble Air, while echoing the sounds and innovations of pan-European contemporary jazz. Mixing pensive rubato ambience with energetic grooves, instrumental dexterity, a modern ECM-esque sound and folk undertones, the record's compositional clarity combined with the spontaneity of a live performance flows across and between genres, borders and generations alike. Luft's intricately overdubbed layers of acoustic guitars, vast reverbs, and contrapuntal melodies expand the sound of the three piece into an immersive world of textures. Rendered in the stark beauty of Andersen's bass lines, the nuanced strokes of Sommer's drums, and capped with the lush, expansive timbres of Luft's guitar, \"As Time Passes\" is a testament to the enduring and ever-evolving wonder of Jazz.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"April","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50415604007243,"sku":"2194208","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50415602630987,"sku":"2194197","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_e070336e_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726691567"},{"product_id":"sound-and-sequences","title":"Sound and Sequences","description":"\u003cp\u003eDanish drummer Daniel Sommer proudly presents the second installment of his critically acclaimed Nordic Trilogy, a project aiming to capture and document Nordic improvisation and composition across three carefully curated ensembles. Featuring Swedish bassist Johannes Lundberg and Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen, ‘Sounds \u0026amp; Sequences’ is set to release on April Records on October 25th. A followup to ‘As Time Passes’ featuring Sommer alongside UK guitarist Rob Luft and Norwegian ECM bassist Arild Andersen, the project develops as Sommer says, \"not to try to make the same kind of music three times in a row, but rather to shed light on Nordic improvisation today from various angles and perspectives.\" With a focus on vulnerability, intuition, and the dialogue between electronic and acoustic sounds, ‘Sounds \u0026amp; Sequences’ offers a striking contrast in aesthetic and mood to the previous record, tied together by a shared sense of refined musical literacy, poetic sensitivity and open-hearted exploration. Drawing inspiration from chamber music, spiritual jazz, and electronic and ambient music, the trio made several visits to Studio Epidemin in Gothenburg several times between March 2022 and December 2023, recording music with no set goals or briefs. Faced with a large volume of recordings, the group then set about compiling their free improvisations into a cohesive statement with form, narrative and direction. \"We simply improvised, listened, discussed, and improvised again until something emerged.\" With the interactive, spacious, and dynamic sound of live trio performances at its core, bowed upright bass harmonics, Henriksen’s lamenting trumpet melodies, and Sommer’s grooving, textural approach to the kit are plunged into a powerful, ethereal universe decorated with screeching distortion, fluttering delays, soaring overtone singing, gritty bit crushers and cavernous reverbs.  Daniel Sommer: Drums  Arve Henriksen:  Trumpet, Electronics, Vocal   Johannes Lundberg: Double Bass, Electronics\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"April","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50783036703051,"sku":"2227484","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50783036047691,"sku":"2227477","price":13.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_cd74da6f_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1731050993"},{"product_id":"lost-threads","title":"Lost Threads","description":"\u003cp\u003eDanish drummer Daniel Sommer completes his internationally acclaimed Nordic Trilogy (featured in Stereogum, Downbeat Magazine, Bandcamp's Best of Jazz and more…) with the release of Lost Threads. Following As Time Passes and Sounds \u0026amp; Sequences, the highly anticipated third chapter features Finnish pianist Artturi Rönkä and Swedish bassist Thommy Andersson. Together, the trio embarks on a deeply introspective exploration of time, space, and their shared Nordic spirit of improvisation. Described by Sommer as \"a process-oriented project prioritizing musical risk and flow,\" the Nordic Trilogy has sought to illuminate Nordic approaches to composition and improvisation across generational and stylistic divides. With Lost Threads, this vision culminates in a collection of music that embraces vulnerability, spontaneity, and togetherness. \"Most of the music emerged as Daniel and I improvised in my living room in Helsinki,\" Rönkä recalls. \"Later, when Thommy joined us for a couple of concerts and recording sessions… his highly personal way of playing the bass inspired Daniel and me to try to develop the music in further, unexpected directions.\" The result is a dynamic and emotionally resonant album, recorded live in a Helsinki studio with all three musicians in the same room, without headphones or edits whatsoever. True to the spirit of the Nordic Trilogy, it stands as both a conclusion and a testament to the boundless possibilities of collective improvisation.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"April","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":51183269871947,"sku":"2242299","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":51183269740875,"sku":"2242283","price":13.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_7ca52a73_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1738262818"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/daniel-sommer.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}