It's Snowing On My Piano - Songbook

Various Artists - Christmas in the Spirit of JazzCD / digitalJust as there are a multitude of different ways to celebrate Christmas, there is also a vast and appetising array of Christmas music. And whereas Nils Landgren's "Christmas With My Friends" series has been an integral part of the run-up to the holiday season for the past 15 years, it is far from being all that ACT has to offer: a host of other artists from the label have created their own distinctive Christmas sounds. These range from the quiet contemplations of pianist Bugge Wesseltoft or the hymn-inspired "Nordic Christmas" from saxophonist Tore Brunborg, to music from Cana-dian singer Laila Biali or “a touch of class” (The Observer) from Echoes of Swing... and even the coruscating and youth-ful energy of the Jazzrausch Bigband. All these and many more are to be found on "Christmas in the Spirit of Jazz". This is the ACT Christmas soundtrack for 2021. Tracks from all eight of the "Christmas With My Friends" albums are the thread running through this Christmas com-pilation. Nils Landgren sets the celebrations in motion with "Coming' Home for Christmas", the album opener. In the course of the album’s eighteen tracks, we hear a roster of other soloists: Jessica Pilnäs, Johan Norberg and Jonas Knut-son bring seasonal joy to Leroy Anderson’s swinging classic "Sleigh Ride"; Sharon Dyall with her blues-infused voice jingles us through the lively "Just Another Christmas Song"; Ida Sand and Jeanette Köhn sing John Rutter’s "Angel's Carol" in a gently-paced duet. As German magazine Stern has remarked of "Christmas With My Friends”, this is music which "sparkles like the starry sky of a Nordic winter night". We cross the border from Sweden into Norway for another Christmas classic: Bugge Wesseltoft recorded one of the best-selling Christmas albums in Norway with his piano solo CD "It's Snowing On My Piano": the plaintive sounds of Wes-seltoft playing "In Dulce Jubilo" have an irresistible simplicity and directness. And then on to Denmark for Janne Mark: she sings about "Vinter", a delightful hymn which brings light and warmth to Scandinavia's season of darkness. Christmas with the Jazzrausch Bigband is lively and sassy. Sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, the stylish sound of this big band has been superbly caught: "Fröhliche Weihnacht überall" (Merry Christmas everywhere) takes us a long way from the quieter and more contemplative vibe to be heard elsewhere on "Christmas in the Spirit of Jazz". Echoes of Swing with Rebecca Kilgore treat us to a superb "Winter Wonderland": it’s swinging and American - but with a knowing, five-four smile.A song which was not originally written with Christmas in mind, but which has nonetheless found its way into the canon is "A Child is Born" by Thad Jones: Laila Biali's version of it is released here on CD for the first time. Another which has also become a Christmas evergreen is Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". Polish violinist Adam Bałdych interprets it here. And with "Happy Xmas, War is Over" from 1971, we hear Iiro Rantala paying homage to John Lennon. His solo piano interpretation is virtuosic yet has depth, and the song’s message of peace could not be more topical or important than it is today. Caecilie Norby and Lars Danielsson have made a new recording of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" especially for "Christmas in the Spirit of Jazz". We hear just the duo of voice and bass, the mood carefree yet festive. "Christmas Song" is heard in a calmly uplifting version from Viktoria Tolstoy, with Ida Sand, Ulf Wakenius and Nils Landgren. And finally Mr. Redhorn brings "Christmas in the Spirit of Jazz" to an atmospheric conclusion on solo trombone: "Der Mond ist aufgegangen" (the moon is risen) is from his recently released solo album "Nature Boy". Landgren’s trombone sound echoes weightlessly through space and time: the final mood is one of contemplation and peace.

Various Artists - Romantic Freedom - Blue in GreenCD / digitalACT is a label with a clear sense of its own identity, values and mission, and these virtues find strong expression in this new compilation. ACT has been a major force since 1992 in bringing to the fore Euro-pean jazz which transcends the old genre boundaries, and has played a major part in helping this music to become far better known in its many and varied forms. This is in fact the second compilation album from the label to bear the motto “Romantic Freedom”. Back in 2006, fourteen years after the label was founded, the first album with this title focused on performances by solo pianists, a particularly strong area for ACT. Now, another fourteen years on, "Romantic Freedom - Blue in Green" brings the story and the message up to date - and does so in several fascinating ways.The ACT family continues to grow with the addition of fascinating artists from all over Europe, so it is fitting that David Helbock, a pianist who has only recently risen to prominence beyond his native Austria, and whose association with ACT started in 2016, should be given the honour of starting the album with his Random Control Trio in a moodily, atmospheric version of the modal Miles Davis/Bill Evans ballad “Blue in Green”. Another pianist who has only recently made his album is Carsten Dahl from Denmark. Dahl's “Sailing with no Wind” has calm, balance and great beauty. And for contrast there is the catchy, rock-inspired immediacy of the Stockholm-based Jacob Karl-zon Trio in “Bubbles”. The nurturing of fruitful dialogue across national borders and styles of music is a real strength at ACT, and is a key feature of "Romantic Freedom - Blue in Green". As Chris Pearson of The Times of London reflected in early 2020: “Since 1992 Act, the German label, has been building its own European union of musicians, fostering a freedom of movement between nationalities and genres.” It is worth noting that, whereas almost half of the pianists on the 2006 album were from North America, all the musicians apart from three on the new album were born in Europe. A band which epitomizes civilized conversation across borders, indeed has it at its very core is Mare Nostrum, the trio of Sardinian trumpeter Paolo Fresu, French accordionist Richard Galliano und Swedish pianist Jan Lundgren. They play Michel Legrand’s “The Windmills of Your Mind” . Fresu’s appealing and warm flugelhorn sound is to also be heard irresistibly on Komeda’s “Sleep Safe and Warm” (also known as “Rosemary’s Lullaby”) in duo with Lars Danielsson. We also hear the very different heritages of Polish violinist Adam Bałdych and French/Israeli pianist Yaron Herman as the pair create and then release tension in “Riverendings”, the first of two tracks on this album featuring a violin.Musicians from Europe walk, quite literally, in the footsteps of the great classical composers. The young German pianist Johanna Summer, the youngest musician on this album and rapidly becoming a star of the label was born in Saxony very near Zwickau, the birthplace of Robert Schumann’s. She is heard here in her affecting “instant com-posing” version of Schumann’s “Of Foreign Lands And People” from “Scenes of Childhood”. David Helbock lived for some years in Vienna, and in “Beethoven #7, 2nd Movement”, we hear the Austrian in a delicate and thoughtful version on prepared piano. Norwegians pia-nist Bugge Wesseltoft and violinist Henning Kragerrud have a deep feeling for the melodic beauty of their compatriot Grieg’s “Våren” (Last Spring). ACT is home for pianists with a central role in European jazz in recent decades, such as Michael Wollny, Joachim Kühn, Leszek Możdżer. All three (and also Bugge Wesseltoft) were represented on the 2006 and the listener can reflect on the journey they have travelled over the decades with a label that above all help to ensure that their reputati-ons can build beyond their home countries. Michael Wollny’s “Little Person”, a cover of Jon Brion’s song from the film “Synecdoche, New York.” is quietly reflective with a gentle pulse and a deliciously open ending. We also hear Wollny on prepared piano accompanying another core member of the ACT artist family, Nils Landgren on both vocals and trombone), in Sting’s “Fragile”. We have the decisively carefree and rocky side of Joachim Kühn’s New Trio in “Sleep on it”. On this compilation we go back to the beginning and hear the very first track from “Pasodoble” Leszek_Możdżer’s 2007 debut on ACT: “Praying” in a duo with Lars Danielsson. Another massively influential figure in European jazz, and until his untimely death in 2008 a core member of the ACT label family was the late Esbjörn Svensson. He was also on the 2006 album. We hear an e.s.t. track which has become a classic, “Believe Beleft Below”, and also a homage to the Swedish visionary from another pianist who has revealed many sides of his character and his story on the ACT label, the Finn Iiro Rantala, who plays his heartfelt tribute “Tears For Esbjörn”. If we now know what European jazz is, that is at least in part because ACT has shaped an important part of its story. "Romantic Freedom - Blue in Green" shows how appealing, how approachable and how universal European jazz at its best can be. Credits: Curated by Siggi Loch Mastered by Klaus Scheuermann

Bugge Wesseltoft - Last SpringCD / Vinyl / digital Bugge Wesseltoft piano Henning Kraggerud violin, viola & viola concorda Every ACT Album has it´s own story. Schloss Elmau plays a role in many. This magnificent hotel at the foot of the Bavarien Alps, far removed from everyday life and constantly flooded with culture, has inspired a number of outstanding artists from Gidon Kremer and Brad Mehldau to Esbjörn Svensson. Moreover in recent times several award-winning albums by ACT artists such as Joachim Kühn and Michael Wollny, Gwilym Simcock and Dieter Ilg have been recorded at this unique place. This time it was the launch pad for a new and surprising collaboration, simultaneously building a bridge between Classical and Jazz, and helping many people revisit and resume a long-awaited success story. In early 2011, label owner Siggi Loch attended a concert by the Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud at Schloss Elmau. Afterwards, the two of them got talking, and Kraggerud mentioned the legendary Christmas album "It's snowing on my piano" by his countryman Bugge Wesseltoft: "That's our absolute favourite CD! It plays non-stop at our place every year from early December to the end of January." Upon hearing that, Siggi Loch happily introduced himself as the producer of the album. "Why don't you make another album for the rest of the year?" Kraggerud then asked. "Would you play on it?" Loch countered. "Of course," came the immediate response. The only thing that remained was to convince Bugge Wesseltoft to join them on the project. He didn't hesitate to consent, and so it was that they came together in November 2011 to record "Last Spring" in Oslo's famous Rainbow Studio, the place where "It's snowing on my piano" was recorded. It is no coincidence that the Classical musician Kraggerud is a fan of that CD, which is the most successful ACT album to date, and which has been lauded repeatedly since its release in 1997 for its "almost celestial beauty" and as the "greatest Christmas CD of them all" (Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung). There are tangible musical predilections of Kraggerud that make understandable his love of the minimalistic and "classically" austere "It's snowing on my piano", which at the same time celebrates variation and the spirit of freedom. This 38 year-old is one of the most successful solo violinists of his time, having played with the best orchestras – most recently with the Danish National Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra – and conductors in the most prestigious concert halls around the world. This multi-talented pupil of Camilla Wicks, Emanuel Hurwitz and Stephan Barratt-Due also lives out his passion as a chamber musician – for example in an all-star quintet with Martha Argerich, Joshua Bell, Yuri Bashmet and Mischa Maisky – as festival director, university professor and composer, and not least of all as improviser. This makes Kraggerud one of a growing number of classical musicians for whom the two great music forms Classical and Jazz are not mutually exclusive but instead complement each other – which goes without saying for this largely classically educated modern Jazz exponent. This is important for Bugge Wesseltoft, the grand master of the synthesis of live electronics and jazz improvisation, to now show his more tranquil, classical side again. Together, Wesseltoft and Kraggerud let time progress one season from the winter theme of "It's snowing on my piano" and put together a sparkling program of 16 pieces with connections to spring for "Last Spring", which is founded mostly on Norwegian folk music. The title track is based on a theme from the great Nordic Romantic Edvard Grieg which is also apparent in many of the other tracks. Alongside folk songs like "Om Kvelden" and "Hei hu", also called upon are indigenous composers from various ages, largely unknown to us: from Anne Haavie, deceased in 1888, and Lars Søraas the Elder, to the Danish organist Otto Mortensen, who died in 1986 and the young singer and lyrist Øyonn Groven Myhren. Then there is also an improvisation on the baroque La Folia, the oldest melodic-harmonic compositional structure, and finally a rendition of Johannes Brahms' Lullaby. As the title intimates, "Last Spring" is a revisiting of spring. It is not an exulting, whirling awakening, but a sustained, minimalistic meditation, oriented strongly towards the details, the variance of the melodies, the breadth and beauty of the sound. It is based on the most perfect interaction possible: Wesseltoft's soft piano daubs melt like wax into the pizzicato melodies that Kraggerud entices out of his 1744 Guarneri violin, his Harald Lund viola and his unique six-stringed viola Concorda. This magical duo succeeds in gleaning new sound ideas and facets from spring, just as the original concept intended. There won't be much doubt as to which CD will be playing from February to May in Norway. And not just then and there...

Various Artists - Hendrix in the Spirit of JazzCD / digital Various Artists “When I die, I want people to play my music, go wild and freak out and do anything they want to do.” Jimi Hendrix’s wish has been posthumously fulfilled. Although he had such misfortune in life, and died in 1970 at a mere 27 years of age, his immortal music has continued to be played ever since his death - very much in the spirit of that quote. Countless musicians in rock, pop and jazz have been influenced by Hendrix, and many have overtly based their own music on his. Among the ACT family of artists, several have been inspired by his music, and have found their own individual ways to play it. In November of this year this icon of the 1968 protest movement, this pioneer of rock would have been 75. A good reason, then, for ACT musicians to gather together for a retrospective called “Hendrix in the Spirit of Jazz”, to let the unique spirit of this genius of the electric guitar soar again.Pride of place here goes to Nguyên Lê. 25 years ago, he was the first artist to have an exclusive contract with ACT, in its first year of existence. As a self-taught guitarist, the Vietnamese-French musician is stylistically close to Hendrix, and the American has discernably influenced Lê’s instantly recognizable world music, which innovatively blends elements from Europe, Asia and America. Indeed, one of Lê’s very greatest successes was the 2002 CD “Purple – Celebrating Jimi Hendrix”. His versions of “1983…(A Merman I Should Turn To Be)” and “If 6 Was 9” form the centre of “Hendrix in the Spirit of Jazz”. Lê is immaculate in the way he lives up to the challenge of the title, taking all the freedom and danger of Hendrix’s rock music, and using the subtle craft of the jazz improviser to enhance it. Alongside Lê, Terri Lyne Carrington is a pivotal figure in this recording. Hendrix's themes are sometimes furiously rocky, sometimes soulful or atmospherically dream-like, and she not only propels them from the drums, she uses her voice to express his lyrics, which she also expands with thoughts of her own. And the other ACT stars on this album demonstrate what a kaleidoscope of colours, a diversity of styles and and lively cosmos Hendrix's pieces can become: whether it is Bugge Wesseltoft transforming “Angel” into a tender solo piano ballad, or his Finnish pianist colleague Iiro Rantala in a trio with Lars Danielsson on bass and Peter Erskine on drums on “Little Wing”. Or it can be the unique Youn Sun Nah’s “Drifting”, intoning an irresistible call of longing, or her soulful Swedish sister-in-jazz Ida Sand, wonderfully expressive in “Manic Depression”. From the NDR Bigband rocking out on “Voodoo Chile” to the ACT Family Band - Cæcilie Norby, Céline Bonacina, Wolfgang Haffner, Lars Danielsson with Nguyên Lê again – performing the most famous Hendrix anthem “Purple Haze” in front of an ecstatic audience celebrating the 20th birthday of ACT.“Hendrix in the Spirit of Jazz” is an anthology which shows that Hendrix’s music is as alive as it ever was – maybe even more so. And what it does - musically at least - is to encourage listeners to ‘go wild and freak out and do anything they want to do’.Credits: Music composed by Jimi Hendrix Compiled by Marco Ostrowski Mastered by Klaus Scheuermann

Bugge Wesseltoft - Everybody Loves AngelsCD / Vinyl / digital Bugge Wesseltoft pianoThere can be very few musicians who are capable of making silence as audibly vivid as the Norwegian Bugge Wesseltoft, in particular in his solo piano recordings. For twenty years, the most successful of these, “It’s Snowing On My Piano”, has been treasured as a haven of wintry stillness and contemplation. It is a classic album. Listeners all over Europe have responded to it by giving it a permanent place in their lives. So now Bugge Wesseltoft and producer Siggi Loch have returned to the original concept of “Snowing” in “Everybody Loves Angels”. The title is a metaphor for the kind of weightless ease which the music conveys; and this time it's not just for winter... The success story started in 1997. Bugge Wesseltoft had just released the album “New Conception Of Jazz” on his own newly-founded label Jazzland. That album broke new ground, combining electronic sounds and grooves with his unmistakeably limpid, transparent piano playing, and the result was a timeless work of art. It left an indelible mark on subsequent generations of pianists, and established him as one of the most important innovators in jazz. ACT label boss Siggi Loch had been following Wesseltoft with interest for quite some time, and made him an offer: to bring a very different side of his musicianship to the fore, and to record a completely acoustic solo piano set “with Christmas in mind” for the fledgling ACT label. Wesseltoft is vehemently opposed the over-commercilisation of Christmas, and yet he did find himself attracted to the idea of recording music which would restore quietness to times in which everything is getting inexorably louder. So Bugge Wesseltoft and Siggi Loch met up at Oslo's Rainbow studio. With the pianist’s little daughter Maren perched on his lap, Wesseltoft started to improvise on Christmas songs and folk melodies. That first solo piano recording was to be the most successful – it achieved the highest sales in the history of ACT. As the popular German newspaper WAZ wrote at the time: “In its almost unworldly beauty, It's Snowing On My Piano is the greatest Christmas CD that jazz has ever produced.” Now, twenty years later, the world is a very different place. A non-stop flow of virtual data, and ever more complex and opaque structures and contexts govern people's everyday lives. It is a world in which the loudest often comes out on top. So, more than ever, people long for a place of sanctuary where they can just have the chance to slow down. Bugge Wesseltoft, who worked for a time in a clinic looking after traumatised patients, has a special insight into the power of music to bring solace to disturbed minds. That is why he was so enthusiastic about the idea of finding another quiet place to record “Everybody Loves Angels”. This time they went to the rugged beauty of the Lofoten region, and to the largest wooden church in Norway. “LofotKatedralen” is also a concert venue and has a superb Steinway piano. The location for the recording has a particular significance for Wesseltoft: “Over the years”, he says, “nature has become an increasingly important source of inspiration for me. In this place there are moments when I experience the feeling of being part of something much bigger. There was no place which could have felt more natural for this recording than Lofoten. The area is beautiful but also harsh, as is life here, just as it was for my great-grandfather, who was born here. To make a recording in the unbelievable LofotKatedralen brought all these things together for me.” In his interpretations of songs by Lennon/McCartney, Paul Simon, Johann Sebastian Bach, Bruno Mars and several others, Wesseltoft has a way of shaping the sound of notes and chords, and of opening up spaces between notes that is uniquely his. As he plays, he does not follow any fixed plan, metre or arrangement; what happens is completely subservient to intuition in the moment. Every sound stands on its own merits. It is as if Wesseltoft is listening his way through into new spaces that open up for him, which then lead on to other doors through which he and the listener can step together. This world of contemplation is a musical counterweight to the zapping mentality of our time. The slowness and the pared-down state of the music permit listeners to find their own stories, colours and shades, to enter into spaces which they will want to visit again and again – and in any season.Credits: Produced by Siggi Loch with the artist Recorded at LofotKatedralen, Lofoten, Norway, Recording date: February 24 – 26, 2017 Recording Engineer: Asle Karstad. Piano technician: Eric Schandall Mixed and mastered by Ulf Holand at Holand Sound Cover art by Amy Simon, 2014, by permission of the artist

Up for a journey into the blue? With 16 sun-soaked tracks, compiled like a DJ set, "Fahrt ins Blaue" offers a relaxed listening trip in the spirit of jazz. Music for cruising and grooving, for feeling good, empathizing, and enjoying: a laid-back album with surprising moments and discovery potential. Refreshing for hot days. Cool sundown music for the twilight hour. And the perfect soundtrack for a relaxed car ride into the weekend, on vacation, or after work.

12 Songs für C-Instrumente fürs Fest!included Songs: -It´s Snowing On My Piano -Mitt hjerte alltijd vanker -Dellig er jorden -O Little Town Of Bethlehem -Du grone, gliternde tre -Det kimar na til julfest -Greensleves, What Child is This -Kimmer I klokker -Es ist ein Ros entsprungen -Stille Nacht -Into Eternal Silence -In Dulce Jubilo

16 tracks, over 50 contributors, 70 minutes of the best jazz-infotainment featuring the current ACT lineup at a special price.

It was another one of those evenings of magical moments that the "Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic" series curated by Siggi Loch is so sure to generate. Knut Reiersrud, Solveig Slettahjell, Bugge Wesseltoft, Morten Qvenild and his trio In The Country demonstrate, as if under a burning glass, the reasons for the almost uncanny success of Norwegian jazz: a return to its own roots, i.e. Norwegian folk music and classical music.

70 minutes of the best jazz infotainment through the current ACT line-up at a special price.

Bugge Wesseltoft's album "It's Snowing On My Piano" is a beautifully crafted Christmas jazz album, awarded Gold and Platinum with a timeless, serene sound.

For the 20th birthday of ACT-Music, the Jubilee Album presents 20 highlights from the moving history of the Munich label. A real treat for connoisseurs, explorers, researchers and the curious, as well as for anyone seeking the Spirit of Jazz.

"One thing must be stated at this point: Christmas With My Friends by the Swedish jazz trombonist Nils Landgren is the most beautiful Christmas CD of the year." - STERN

Lars Danielsson's masterpiece blends acoustic soundscapes and electronic ambient vibes with a stellar lineup.

Piano Works: Four albums of masterful solo piano recordings – a comprehensive 5-CD collection for all piano music lovers.

A curated compilation by Siggi Loch featuring solo performances from twelve top pianists, showcasing exceptional jazz piano talent.

"Audiophile Highlight" in STEREO: "An extraordinary record."

Miki N'Doye blends jazz with West African sounds featuring Bugge Wesseltoft, Jon Balke & more. Recorded at Bugges Room in 2000.

"This high-caliber groove sampler is exciting and captivating from the first note to the last" - (JAZZPODIUM)