Helge Lien Trio
Hello Troll

The fifth studio album, dating back to about three years ago, of the versatile jazz trio led by the Norwegian composer Helge Lien, stands on solid and shifting balances. Helge Lien is a character on a definite rise among the preferences of European jazz enthusiasts, thanks to a musical eclecticism and intelligence that is anything but ordinary.

Supporting the pulsating heart of the ensemble skillfully guided by the ivory keys of the young and bearded pianist from Moelv, we find a classic polyrhythmic setup composed of the robust double bass of Frode Berg and the nimble percussion of Knut Aalefjær, an ideal substrate for the measured, sometimes edgy and naive, piano excursions of our protagonist.

The pivot around which the nine movements of the album revolve consists on one hand of effervescent segments, oblique, almost threatening, in a state of perpetual tension even if never overly harsh, and on the other hand, of the elastic shifts towards more barren, placid, and intimate territories.

So, for once, we can welcome with satisfaction the arrival of a Troll on DeBaser.