The 3rd album from this young Norwegian piano trio led by composer Kjetil A Mulelid with double bassist Bjørn Marius Hegge and drummer Andreas Skår Winther, presenting ten lyrical compositions of strong melodies and solid and expressive rhythmic foundations, a thoughtfully beautiful and sophisticated album of exquisite modern jazz.
Format: CD Condition: New Released: 2022 Country: Norway Packaging: Digipack Recorded in Athletic Sound, in Halden, Norway, on June 21st, and 22nd, 2021, by Dag Erik Johansen.
"Who Do You Love The Most? is the young trio's third album in just over four years, and continues in the tradition of their two previous efforts; beautiful and evocative melodies, rich on harmonies, often rhythmically complex textures and a typically folk-like Scandinavian character with the occasional gospel feel. The album's 10 songs are all Mulelid originals, except for a gripping cover of Judee Sill's "The Archetypical Man". Two of the originals are the trio's versions of songs that first appeared on the pianist's much lauded solo piano album ("Piano") from last year. Kjetil André Mulelid (31) comes across as an exceptionally mature pianist and composer. The trio's 2017 debut Not Nearly Enough To Buy A House received wide international acclaim, with writers most typically mentioning Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans. The praise continued for 2019's follow-up What You Thought Was Home, with the Jazz Journal giving it a 5/5 rating and calling it "some of the most captivating music I´ve heard in quite some while". All About Jazz noted the maturity of the work, feeling like coming from three well-seasoned pros."-Rune Grammofon
"Who Do You Love The Most? is the third album in four years of the Norwegian trio of pianist-composer Kjetil André Mulelid and expands this young trio's aesthetics. The ten pieces, recorded at Athletic Sound in Halden in June 2021, offer lyrical and evocative melodies, often touched by Nordic melancholia, with rhythmically complex textures and an occasional gospel feel. Mulelid composed nine of the songs, two first appeared on his solo piano album, "Piano" (Rune Grammofon, 2021), and the only non-original piece is a cover of American singer-songwriter Judee Sill's "The Archetypical Man".
Mulelid is accompanied by the excellent rhythm section of double bass player Bjørn Marius Hegge and drummer Andreas Skår Winther, both, like Mulelid come from the fertile milieu at the Trondheim Conservatory of Music. This mature, working trio has developed close and organic dynamics that always stress the melodic flow of the pieces. Hegge and Winther know when to add subtle and sparse colors to Mulelid's piano musings, like on the opening "Paul", the gospel-ish "Remembering", "For You I'll Do Everything" from "Piano", or the touching, last song "New Morning". Hegge and Winther also know when to inject infectious driving patterns like "The Road" and "Gospel", both songs bring to mind the natural and breezy melodic drive of the Scandinavian quartet of Keith Jarrett, a clear inspiration on Mulelid. The beautiful cover of Sill's "The Archetypical Man" frames the original song from its religious images and frames it in the blues tradition.
But beyond all, it is the engaging elegance and the radiant, captivating beauty of Kjetil Mulelid playing throughout Who Do You Love The Most?."-Eyal Hareuveni