Inger Marie - For You

Chiunque segua il jazz scandivano non potra' che rimanere sorpreso e allo stesso tempo entusiasta per il cast stellare presente in questo cd. Oltre a Jesper Bodilsen e Morten Lund ormai cari al pubblico italiano in quanto facenti parte di quel Stefano Bollani Danish Trio che ha ospitato in qualita' di house band tanti musicisti nella trasmissione televisiva piu' bella ( musicalmente parlando ) dell'ultimo autunno, è bene riconoscere altri veri mostri sacri del jazz nordico quali il chitarrista Ulf Wakenius e soprattutto il trombettista Willy Aaserud vera e propria stella nascente. Tutti questi mostri sacri si mettono umilmente a disposizione di una delle piu' belle e forse misconosciute vocalist di origine nordica : Inger Marie. Voce unica, la scelta dei brani che vanno dal pop di quella che potremmo considerare il gruppo pop norvegese piu' popolare al mondo, ossia quegli Aha che con il loro video a fumetti tanto successo hanno fatto con Take on Me qui riproposta in versione intima e molto personale, o Crying in The Rain di Carole King cui Inger piu' volte paga tributo, cui si alternano classici del jazz. Lo stile e rilassante, quasi a riportarci con la mente su cui fiordi norvegesi fatti di natura, sole e mare che tanto attirano la nostra fantasia e della cui "voce" Inger Marie si fa ambasciatrice. Un cd non banale, ottimamente suonato e ancor meglio inciso. Per chi vuol scoprire qualcosa di realmente nuovo.

Inger Marie first worked with the Swedish guitarist Ulf Wakenius on BY MYSELF from 2006. The collaboration was inspiring for both of them and led to many concerts all over the world. Inger Marie’s next release, MY HEART WOULD HAVE A REASON, was produced by another great Swedish guitarist, Georg Wadenius. But on her new album, FOR YOU, Ulf and Inger Marie join forces once again. This time with a Scandinavian dream team featuring another Swede, Lars Jansson, on piano, and two Danes, bassist Jesper Bodilsen and drummer Morten Lund – as well as the wonderful trumpeting of Norwegian Per Willy Aaserud on several tracks. Inger Marie and her band of outstanding musicians make this album an aesthetic delight. Inger Marie lives in Arendal in southern Norway, where the houses sprawl over the mountainside down to the bay. This atmosphere and these surroundings inspire the vocalist’s heartfelt interpretations in a selection of well-known and lesser-known, carefully chosen songs. This album includes a version of the perhaps most successful song ever from a Norwegian pop group, AHA’s “Take On Me”. However, if you don’t happen to know the lyrics, you may not recognize it, because Inger Marie makes every song her own. Her style is relaxed, and her phrasing is carved in stone. She has her own sound, and she compiles her repertoire with a broader scope than the traditional American Songbook. In her native Norway, Inger Marie is a well-kept secret, and the road to her large audience in the rest of the world was paved by mouth to ear. No single hit, spectacular video, flashy outfit or strange behavior has made her art famous. Her weapon is a voice so unmistakably Inger Marie, that it will tattoo itself indelibly into your awareness the first time you hear it. Her unstressed approach fascinates. Every song declares its love of life. We recognize the melancholy mood, the emotions. This is the essence of music. In May 2011, in Lars Nilsson’s Nilento Studio outside Gothenburg, Inger Marie and her five Scandinavian musicians met with producer Rasmus Solem and created magical moments. Now the rest of us can share the experience. Inger Marie doesn’t seek flashy musicality, she seeks depth, and she finds it in this quintet of musicians, who despite their virtuosic qualities never play a superfluous note. Their splendid musicianship allows room for reflection. This is the sound of the mountains of Arendal!