She touched me

Description

THOMAS CLAUSEN TRIO
SHE TOUCHED ME

Mads Vinding: Bass
Thomas Clausen: Piano
Alex Riel: Drums

1. SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES 4’25 (J. Kern / O. Harbach) T.B. Harms Company (ASCAP)
2. SHE TOUCHED ME 7’57 (M. Schafer / I. Levin) Edwin H. Morris & Co. (ASCAP)
3. ‘ROUND MIDNIGHT 6’48 (T. Monk / C. Williams / B. Hanighen) Thelonius Music (BMI) / Warner-Tamerlane Publ. Corp. (ASCAP)
4. ALL I TOUCH 4’18 (M. Mandel / W. Silensky) Edwin H. Morris & Co. (ASCAP)
5. EXACTLY LIKE A BLUES 4’37 (T. Clausen) Edition Marion Kaempfert / Edition DOMA Bert Kaempfert (GEMA)
6. THE MAN I LOVE 6’08 (G. Gershwin / I. Gershwin) WB Music Corp. (ASCAP)
7. MOON RIVER 6’32 (H. Mancini / J. Mercer) Famous Music Corp. (ASCAP)
8. STEVE 5’12 (T. Clausen) Edition Marion Kaempfert / Edition DOMA Bert Kaempfert (GEMA)
9. O GRANDE AMOR 3’14 (A.C. Jobim / V. Moraes) Ipanema Music Corp. (ASCAP) / Corcovado Music (BMI)
10. ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE 4’56 (J. Kern / O. Hammerstein II) T.B. Harms Company (ASCAP)
11. PRELUDE TO A KISS 2’29 (D. Ellington / I. Mills / I. Gordon) Mills Music Inc. (ASCAP)

Produced by ALLAN BOTSCHINSKY
Executive Producer: MARION KAEMPFERT

Digital Recording and Digital Master Mix by MADS NILSSON at WERNER STUDIOS, Copenhagen
Cover: Relief Painting © 1988 by JETTE BOTSCHINSKY, Mombasa – Kenya
Art Direction: MARION KAEMPFERT
Photography: HANS SØNDERGÅRD / ALLAN BOTSCHINSKY

© 1988 by M.A Music International, PO Box 13 20 01, D-2000 Hamburg, W-Germany

Since coming to live in Copenhagen in 1964, I’ve been very impressed with the jazz scene here in Denmark. I can remember the fantastic days in the “old” Montmartre club where music really lived. Those were the days – Dexter, Sonny Rollins, Ben, Johnny Griffin, Stuff Smith, Don Byas, Thad Jones, Hawkins et al. Of course I was also lucky to play and meet with many Danish artists and I was very happy to work with, among others, drummer Alex Riel, bassist Mads Vinding, and trumpeter Allan Botschinsky, to name a few of the many I have deep respect for.

I first heard Thomas Clausen on an LP with Jackie McLean and Gary Bartz in 1973. I liked the way this young pianist approached the piano and followed his career with great interest. Later, as producer of two of his piano projects, I found working with Thomas extremely rewarding. He has control of his instrument and explores in depth and warmth in all possible ways.

Thomas Clausen is a fine example of a contemporary jazz pianist. Today he is an outstanding musical talent, and will continue to develop in the future. Thomas is another link in the chain of wonderful musicians I’ve had the pleasure to listen to and work with here in Denmark.

All the best to you, Thomas.

KENNY DREW

Thomas Clausen’s ability to blend his lyrical impression into a pure jazz feeling makes him one of the outstanding talents that have emerged from the Danish jazz scene. Now with the release of this current album, the international jazz public will be able to benefit from his unique musicianship.

Every time I hear Thomas’ music, I am impressed with his lyricism. He has always exhibited this profound respect for the melodic line; and at the same time he has been able to control his own obvious technical virtuosity so that it works for the melody rather than against it. “I always try to think melodically even when I’m improvising”, he explains, “and create new melodies within the improvised passages”.

Listening to the Thomas Clausen Trio playing these ageless standards, one is fascinated by the tightness of the arrangements. It’s musical architecture is so thorough that you can easily share Clausen’s intentions: a profound respect for the melodies of these standards he evidently chose with much care. Despite the stability of the structure of the trio arrangements, room is always left for improvisation; there is always a perfect balance between Clausen’s lyrical expression as a pianist and his respect for the composers’ intentions. With this album, Thomas Clausen demonstrates that he has developed into a fully mature jazz artist with his own unique musical vocabulary and identifiable sound.

Clausen is heard on this album with the veterans – Alex Riel (drums), and Mads Vinding (bass). As a trio they function perfectly which should come as no surprise since these gentlemen have all cut their musical chops together, from the musically fertile period in Copenhagen (late 60’s and early 70’s) – a time when the “old” Montmartre was the center for some of the greatest music being heard in Europe. All of these musicians have worked at various times in groups with Dexter Gordon, Eddy “Lockjaw” Davis, Ben Webster, George Russell, Jan Garbarek, Thad Jones and many other great soloists.

Thomas Clausen has always had a strong affinity and talent for composing, as you can hear on this LP in “Exactly like A Blues” and his poignant hommage to bassist Steve Swallow, “Steve”. Yet in all his compositions as well as his arrangements for these standards, he has created just the proper proportions in which the feeling for improvisation can easily flow. “When you learn something about improvisation, you learn something about life”, explains Clausen, “you have to accept every note you may just have played. You have to believe in that note – no matter what – even if it may go against your theory. If you throw it away – you’ll get lost…”

In the final analyses, music always comes back to just plain listening. When Thomas sees students at the Conservatory working on a composition assignment, without a piano – writing notes which have only a theoretical basis – he becomes incensed. “Listen instead of thinking”, he reminds them, “all good music is created by the ear. It’s the ear which has to make the selection. There are different ways of listening. When you compose you listen one way. And when you’re playing in a group you have to listen to everything going on around you. You especially have to listen to the pauses in between notes and phrases. When you listen, you are searching for the right ideas. You have to listen to the silence”, concludes Clausen, “in order to create the proper sound…”

LEONARD MALONE