CD Review: Henrik Jensen's FOLLOWED BY THIRTEEN - Qualia.

Henrik Jensen (bass); Andre Canniere (tpt); Esben Tjalve (pno); Peter Ibbetson (dms).
(Review by Lance).

Two Danes, an American and a British guy walked into a recording studio.

It was a meeting of like souls (Qualia is a philosophical term meaning an unfamiliar word for something that could not be more familiar to each of us).

Jensen composed the pieces which provide the framework for the musicians to release their creative juices on this, the debut album for his group Followed by Thirteen. If the name refers to the band's Twitter following then once the CD has been heard they'll be changing the name daily!

Despite the globalisation of jazz today, to me, Canniere's trumpet sound and phrasing are, despite his name and his involvement with the European scene, totally American just as Tjalve's piano work, if not distinctly Danish, is unmistakably European. Ibbetson's drumming is totally British whilst Jensen's bass playing is probably mid-Atlantic!

I realise I'm making these generalisations with the hindsight of knowledge - put me in a darkened room and I'd probably refute what I've written!

Whatever, this cosmopolitan line-up works superbly well.

The themes are good and Canniere does stand out solo-wise although Tjalve is only a whisker behind. Ibbetson's drumming is living proof of why he is an A lister on the London circuit and Henrik Jensen is not merely a composer to watch but an imaginative and sensitive bass player.

The CD: Henrik Jensen's FOLLOWED BY THIRTEEN - Qualia was launched on June 17 and  will be released on July 29 by Jellymould. JM-JJ013.

Lance.