22.07.2017
Text by Haluk Damar
Illustration by Saydan Akşit
Adam Baldych, who has raised interest in the jazz scene after he was asked to accompany one of the world’s most influential violin virtuosos, Jan Luc Pontry, on the new music he wrote for two violins, is on a mission to re-discover violin’s place in the modern music.
After Bridges, the album he recorded with Helge Lien Trio and released from the eclectic pop music label ACT in 2005, was discovered and praised by wide audiences, Baldych built his courage even more and took important steps in becoming an important violin virtuoso by developing his uncompromising violin technique which is also open to experimental endeavors.
Beside his flowing and sharp violin technique, Baldych’s most prominent feature is his melodies that feed from a wide spectrum. Taking huge advantage from his mastery over different violin styles, Baldych’s bold technique also provides the melodic structure. Known for his taste for a unique melancholy, Baldych is also a musician who is not afraid of gaining tempo when he feels necessary.
You might think that such a musician who has no problems with being creative and deep would also have no problems finding fellow musicians to work with. But for musicians like Baldych who are determined to break molds and push borders, more importantly for musicians who can succeed in doing so from the very get-go, finding musicians who share the same ideals and talents is the hardest challenge. This is just where Helge Lien comes into play.
A part of the legendary Edward Vesala Trio and Jan Garbarek Quartet, as well as the new trio of one of Scandinavia’s most important jazz figures Arild Andersen; Helge Linen is a jazz pianist who creates in a wide spectrum from solo piano albums to musical projects with Norway’s theatre dive Anne Marit Jacobsen.
Just like Adam Baldych, Linen is also after creating a personal melodic structure and he is known for his flexibility to accompany different musical styles. This is why he is the perfect answer to the needs of a experimental violin player like Baldych. Their performances together is a musical creation that feeds from a mutually shared hunger for pushing borders of modern jazz. It is utmost enjoyable to watch these two musicians creating collectively on stage without compromising their own rules.
Linen is one of the rare European pianists who claimed international fame in the vacuum created after Esbjörn Svensson’s untimely death. His stage performances stripped from theatrical attitudes provide a contrast, which in turn makes him stand out.