In the Middle of Nothing - to Palle Mikkelborg Carsten Dahl Ensemble
Album info
Album-Release:
2025
HRA-Release:
11.04.2025
Album including Album cover
- 1 Messier 101 03:40
- 2 Virgo 04:35
- 3 Fornax 10:53
- 4 Helios 03:46
- 5 Centaurus 05:21
- 6 Canis Majoris 03:35
- 7 Ton 618 06:27
Info for In the Middle of Nothing - to Palle Mikkelborg
Storyville Records is proud to present Danish pianist and composer Carsten Dahl's 'In the Middle of Nothing', a deeply personal tribute to one of Scandinavian jazz's most visionary figures. This recording is both a celebration and a meditation, honoring the legendary Palle Mikkelborg, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and spiritual guide to generations of jazz musicians.
Mikkelborg's influence spans decades, transcending borders and genres. His sound is otherworldly, his approach both intimate and expansive. He has spent a lifetime exploring the space between sound and silence - seeking, as Dahl describes, "the sublime sound of nothing in everything and the sound of everything in nothing." With 'In the Middle of Nothing', Carsten Dahl channels this philosophy into a deeply atmospheric and immersive listening experience. The album carries a special dimension, as Mikkelborg himself participates alongside his wife, the renowned harpist Helen Davies. Together, they join Carsten Dahl Ensemble in a sonic exploration where the boundaries between composition and improvisation dissolve, creating a musical universe that is at once ethereal and profoundly grounded. The album also features contributions from a slew of prominent names in Scandinavian jazz, including saxophonist Fredrik Lundin, bassist Nils Bo Davidsen, drummer Thomas Pasborg, a string sextet, and BBC Children's Choir.
'In the Middle of Nothing' is a testament to the power of listening, of presence, and of music's ability to transcend the tangible world. It's an album for those who seek music that exists beyond boundaries, where jazz meets folklore, and where silence meets sound.
Carsten Dahl Ensemble
Carsten Dahl, /strong>piano, direction
Fredrik Lundin, saxophone
Nils Bo Davidsen, bass
Thomas Pasborg, drums
Palle Mikkelborg, trumpet
Helen Davies, harp
Celina Sørine Dahl, vocals
BBC Children's Choir
String sextet
Carsten Dahl
Danish pianist, composer and pioneer within improvisation Carsten Dahl has, over the last four decades, established himself as a master composing pianist.
Noted as a remarkable, wild and wide-ranging artist on the European jazz scene, his personal imprint is unmistakable in all of his diverse projects – from solo recordings to orchestral works, from free jazz to Bach's Goldberg Variations and the Well-Tempered Clavier.
Any attempt to give a brief description of Carsten’s musical style would have to be quickly abandoned. He is a musician with absolutely no desire to tie himself to any form or genre, and there is literarily no musical expression he hasn’t tried.
Solo piano is very important to him, a challenge where he finds the greatest potential to work with space and time, to create music that relates to the moment searching for eternity.
It’s for his two solo albums that he has received the DMA Jazz Prize for Best Record in 2004 and 2011. Here he takes inspiration from both classical pianist Glenn Gould and jazz pianists like Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans and Bud Powell; cultivating improvisation in extreme situations. There are also clear inspirations from contemporary music and different world regions and folk music - one of very few people able to bring together many global inspirations into one comprehensive personal expression with a clear artistic signature.
Carsten is without a doubt among this century's greatest pianists.
Latest he has been known for his highly acclaimed classical compositions and piano works, such as The 5th Dimension that premiered in 2013 and the double concerto for two pianos and orchestra The Sadness will Last Forever in 2022.
Any attempt to give a brief description of Carsten Dahl’s musical style would have to be quickly abandoned. Here is a musician with absolutely no desire to tie himself to any form or genre, and there is literarily no musical expression he hasn’t tried. Carsten Dahl is known for his work as jazz oriented pianist, but he is a musician and composer that moves unimpeded from the bebop tradition via completely free improvisation to classical music. Carsten Dahl is without a doubt among this century's greatest pianists. Latest he has been known for his highly acclaimed classical compositions and piano works, such as The 5th Dimension that premiered in 2013.
Solo piano is very important to Carsten Dahl, a challenge where he finds the greatest potential to work with space and time, to create music that relates to the moment. It’s for his two solo albums that he has received the DMA Jazz Prize for Best Record in 2004 and 2011. Here he takes inspiration from both classical pianist Glenn Gould and jazz pianists like Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans and Bud Powell; cultivating improvisation in extreme situations. There are also clear inspirations from contemporary music and different world regions and folk music - one of very few people able to bring together many global inspirations into one comprehensive personal expression with a clear artistic signature.
This album contains no booklet.