JULIA HÜLSMANN TRIO - The End of a Summer (2008) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Since they started in the early 1970’s, ECM has been giving the world one excellent jazz piano disc after another--significant names include Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, and Paul Bley, more recently Anat Fort, Bo Stenson, and now Julia Hulsmann. Leading a trio on her ECM debut, THE END OF SUMMER, Hulsman displays a graceful, muted, and melancholy air. In the manner of Stenson and Bley, Hulsmann expresses maximum emotion and mood using the fewest (but well-placed) notes. Unlike the aforementioned gentlemen however, Hulsmann favors almost folk-like, affable, and concise melodies. Her bassist and drummer seem subdued at times, but they’re constantly lending the tunes a sense of forward motion. by Mark Keresman
Tracklist:
1 The End Of A Summer 5:28
Written-By – Julia Hülsmann
2 Konbanwa 4:31
Written-By – Heinrich Köbberling
3 Kiss From A Rose 4:05
Written-By – Seal
4 Last One Out 4:01
Written-By – Marc Muellbauer
5 Quint 4:05
Written-By – Julia Hülsmann
6 Senza 5:22
Written-By – Julia Hülsmann
7 Not The End Of The World 6:43
Written-By – Julia Hülsmann
8 Sepia 3:44
Written-By – Julia Hülsmann
9 Gelb 4:45
Written-By – Julia Hülsmann
10 Where In The World 4:28
Written-By – Heinrich Köbberling
Credits:
Double Bass – Marc Muellbauer
Drums – Heinrich Köbberling
Piano – Julia Hülsmann
Producer – Manfred Eicher
ECM 2079

JULIA HÜLSMANN TRIO WITH ANNA LAUVERGNAC – Come Closer (Celebrating Randy Newman) (2004) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

We do not want to go as far as to say Julia Hülsmann who currently lives in Berlin doesn’t get the attention she deserves in her home country. On the contrary: She is considered one of the most original pianists in Germany. Her ambitious projects, challenging both in concept and execution, together with singer Roger Cicero (“Good Morning Midnight“) and the singers Rebekka Bakken (“Scattering Poems“) and Anna Lauvergnac (”Come Closer“) earned such excellent reviews that Hülsmann has been declared an expert on the musical adaptation of foreign texts. Be it poems by Emily Dickinson and E.E. Cummings or the songs of Randy Newman. Hülsmann’s delicate sound underlines the delicacy of the word without acting as an “accompanist“. Nonetheless: Once the album ”The End of a Summer“ is out on ECM one of these days we may finally listen to the pure Julia Hülsmann trio. Detained, reduced to the essential and touchingly intensive are these songs without lyrics. Extracting such beauty from a horrendously overplayed ballad like Seal’s „Kiss from a Rose“ is not only a remarkable achievement in itself but also one of the most luminous ballads of this autumn. WEB
Tracklist :
1     Let's Burn Down The Cornfield     7:42
2     Cowboy     3:52
3     Mama Told Me Not To Come     4:46
4     I Think It's Going To Rain Today     3:05
5     Lonely At The Top     4:26
6     In Germany Before The War     4:44
7     Baltimore     7:11
8     You Can Leave Your Hat On     6:28
9     Sandman's Coming     3:15
10     Come Closer    4:26
    Words By, Music By – Anna Lauvergnac, Julia Hülsmann
11     Short People     8:01
12     Old Man On The Farm     2:40
Credits :
Bass – Marc Muellbauer
Drums – Heinrich Köbberling
Piano, Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Producer, Arranged By – Julia Hülsmann
Vocals – Anna Lauvergnac
Words By, Music By – Randy Newman (tracks: 1 to 9, 11, 12)