Thursday, November 9, 2017

Trio 65 1/2: 66 67 (STORYVILLE RECORDS 2017)


Trio 65 ½ was the trio that won all the jazz-competitions in the mid 60’s and were “talk of the town”. The three incredibly talented musicians listened to their idol, the pianist Bill Evans’ LP Trio 64 and halfway through 1965 Ole Streenberg came up with the name: Trio 65 ½. Ib Lund Nielsen wrote notable songs such as Bit og Juleballade, which still is remembered by the attending guests at one of the first “Jazz I Reprisen”-events in Holte in 1967.

They are all to be found on this new release and as Kenneth Knudsen says: “It hits me, how tight it was. Jens Jorn Gjeldsted Ole Streenberg and I were young, around 20 years old. And unexperienced. Ib Lund Nielsen was a bit older and with some experience from other groups. When we, quite randomly, met each other, it did not take long for us to realize that we shared a mutual pulse, a comfort – a faith, that the music stood by itself. It was new and weirdly wordless. We didn’t even know how special it was, because we were completely focused on creative development. And the problems and challenges that come with it.

I myself was equally drawn towards fixing and tearing apart. But looking back, with so much experienced, so much played and heard, it’s clear to me, that this collaboration was the ‘approach to the music´. This feeling of approach that I think everyone experiences at some point – I hope."

01. Bit
02. Ras Bros
03. Stella By Starlight
04. There Will Never Be Another You
05. Juleballade
06. Tja
07. Bass Blues
08. Why Not? That's What!
09. Naima
10. Bessie's Blues
11. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
12. Some Day My Prince Will Come

Kenneth Knudsen: keyboards
Ib Lund Nielsen: bass
Ole Streenberg: drums

Recorded in 1966 and 1967