Janne Mark: hymns to the silence

Start the week by listening to a lead-off track from Kontinent by Danish singer Janne Mark. The Danish language title of the track, 'Altid allerede elsket,' according to Google Translate, means ''Always already loved.'' Mark's five-star Pilgrim …

Published: 5 Oct 2020. Updated: 3 years.

Start the week by listening to a lead-off track from Kontinent by Danish singer Janne Mark.

The Danish language title of the track, 'Altid allerede elsket,' according to Google Translate, means ''Always already loved.''

Mark's five-star Pilgrim from 2018, a big numimous hymnal surprise at the time, surprising for that style, chimed easily with a jazz-appreciating sensibility. Kontinent – ''continent'' – features compositions and lyrics by Mark and includes traditional religious music among which is 'Taladh Chriosta,' also known in the Scottish Gaelic tradition, and that dates back to the 7th century.

The full collective album personnel is: Janne Mark, vocals; Arve Henriksen, trumpet, spoken word & electronics; Nils Økland, hardanger fiddle, viola d’amore & violin; Henrik Gunde, piano, harmonium, mellotron and vibraphone; Esben Eyermann, double bass; Bjørn Heebøll, drums. Largely recorded in a Copenhagen studio in May, Kontinent is to be released by the German ACT label in November and was produced by trumpeter Arve Henriksen.

Photo of Janne Mark: Zuhal Kocan/ACT

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Right Now! Live at the Village Vanguard, the Dayna Stephens quartet

It was Lionel Loueke during a 2012 interview that I conducted with him for a piece run in Jazzwise who mentioned the name of Dayna Stephens to me, the first time I had heard of the saxophonist. Back then I wasn't familiar with the name but thought …

Published: 4 Oct 2020. Updated: 3 years.

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It was Lionel Loueke during a 2012 interview that I conducted with him for a piece run in Jazzwise who mentioned the name of Dayna Stephens to me, the first time I had heard of the saxophonist. Back then I wasn't familiar with the name but thought that I'd watch out for his records and try to hear him live some time given Lionel's admiration for him as a player. While I still have not managed to hear the American live since then, I have heard a few of Dayna's records and liked Gratitude most and also appreciated Liberty, too. I've been listening to Right Now! Live at the Village Vanguard on and off for the last few days and aim to keep returning to it. A quartet album, the pianist Aaron Parks, Ben Street on bass and Gregory Hutchinson on drums join the leader. Comments? Well, very briefly, it's excellent. “Every time I count off a tune it begins a new journey, even more so with different personnel,” Stephens says in the notes on Bandcamp. Begin your journey into the inspiring Stephens sound, destination 7th Avenue South – today. SG