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Espen Berg: Acres of Blue

By Eyal Hareuveni
March 3, 2014
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Acres of Blue is the second volume of solo piano albums by Norwegian pianist

Espen Berg

piano
b.1983

" data-original-title="" title="">Espen Berg, an organic extension of the most beautiful, Noctilucent (Atterklang, 2012). This time Berg chose to present a mixture of original compositions, improvised pieces, and arrangements of pieces that reference the breadth of his musical vocabulary and his formative influences—romantic compositions of Fr��d��ric Chopin, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Nordic pianists-composers as

Esbjorn Svensson

piano
1964 - 2008

" data-original-title="" title="">Esbjorn Svensson,

Helge Lien

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Helge Lien and obviously,

Keith Jarrett

piano
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Keith Jarrett.

All the compositions are rooted in a common key, D flat, which its fundamental tonality symbolizes for Berg the colors of blue and purple landscapes in music, reflecting the beloved Nordic natural scenery, often wrapped in soft variations of the color blue. The recording captures the great, bright acoustics of the concert hall at RDAM in Copenhagen, where Berg worked over two intense days in May 2013.

The album begins and ends with two contemplative improvisations, "Continuation" and "Inevitable" that mark the expansion of his first piano solo project and the new, diverse musical roads of the second project. Both pieces emphasize his highly personal aesthetic—assured and articulate abstraction, modest in its virtuous technique, rich and profound in its breadth of sound and emotionally intense even in its most spare segments. Berg avoids expansive, dramatic flights on the piano and opts for a more implicit manner of playing, exposing his elegant, captivating musical structures with patience, suspense, and irony.

Berg dedicates a touching, melancholic improvised piece to Chopin's, "Fr��d��ric," assimilating and playing with elements from his era, and beautifully expands Beethoven's theme from the popular "Til Eline" as a modern jazz theme. He turns

Sting

bass, electric
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Sting's heartbreaking ballad "Hounds of Winter" (from Mercury Falling, 1995) to a concise, lyrical description of a winter time state of mind. He submits wisely

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis's classic "Nardis," often associated with

Bill Evans

piano
1929 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Evans, to his own gentle and playful tonality. The most remarkable pieces are the originals, "Sprites of Time," the title piece and "Bokeh," all are evocative, nuanced stories of dreamy, almost super natural landscapes.

Another great work of a true master of the piano.

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Track Listing

Continuation; Fr��d��ric; Brooklyn; Hounds of Winter; Five Mile Shoes; Til Eline; Sprites of Time; Acres of Blue; Nardis; Bokeh; Inevitable.

Personnel

Espen Berg

piano

Espen Berg: piano.

Album information

Title: Acres of Blue | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Atterklang

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