Hoff Ensemble - Quiet Winter Night

The Hoff Ensemble consists of some of Norway's finest jazz and session musicians, fronted by trumpeter Mathias Eick, of ECM renown, who plays a leading role in several of the compositions. The ensemble's basic quartet features legendary veteran bassist Arild Andersen and arranger Jan Gunnar Hoff on piano. Hoff has performed with his own group since 1993, collaborating with such artists as Mike Stern, Pat Metheny, Maria Joao and Alex Acuna. This time this great Norwegian band mixes flavours in a "cross-over" setting. Eick, with whom Hoff has worked on earlier projects, was the obvious first choice for Quiet Winter Night, along with Andersen and the rest of the band, complemented by Rune Arnesen (ex N.P.Molvær) on percussion and Børge Petersen-Øverleir, Norway's leading session guitarist. Brilliant fiddle player Annbjørg Lien is an exciting addition to the Hoff Ensemble, giving Quiet Winter Night a sound that is definitely Nordic with elements of jazz, folk and beyond, making this an interesting and original journey. On some of the instrumental tracks, like "Blågutten", Eick and Petersen-Øverleir create an overall jazz/fusion sound, while the trio setting of "Redd Mamma" is reminiscent of the work of Sweden's Jan Johansson. "Hva skal hende nå" bears comparison with Metheny's ballad form, yet with a more rock-influenced guitar sound. This tune also includes a great bass solo by Andersen. Side 1 Dronning Fjellrose Still, still kommer vi Dele alle ord og tanker Redd Mamma Sulla, sulla krekling Ville fjellgutt Side 2 Blagutten Hva skal hende na? Vesle, rare bygdeunge En blanissekveld Kveldslokk for sma unger Lys I desember