About my CD : Jacob Fischer Trio Feat Svend Asmussen from 2008

blandt 5 bedste CDer 2008 ”..Det er ganske enestående...” ”..Svend Asmussen spiller så fantastisk, at man på det nærmeste taber vejret..” ”..Det er jazzkunst af fineste skuffe..” ”..det unikke album har været ventetiden værd..” - Kjeld Frandsen læs hele anmeldelsen Weekendavisen Af Ib Skovgaard Onsdag, december 17, 2008 Der er heldigvis også guitarister, der ikke lader sig intimidere af Kurt Rosenwinkel og tidsånden. Fordi identitet og musikerskab for længst har fundet sit rette leje. Sådan en  guitarist er Jacob Fischer. Efter utallige år som stærkt efterspurgt musiker, der kan improvisere i enhver sammenhæng med et enestående repertoire-kundskab, har den autodidakte guitarvirtuos endelig udsendt et album i eget navn. Fischer har medvirket på mange indspilninger, har ikke tidligere fundet det belejligt at tegne sig for en cd, hvor han selv sætter standarden og bestemmer udtrykket....Det er det, vi har ventet på i så mange år... ..Jacob Fischer i renkultur som både spillemand  og jazzkunstner i et repertoire af standards, jazzklassikere og egne kompositioner. Fischers utrolige akkordbehandling, fraseringer og melodiske improvisationer er i en  klasse for sig. Jyllands-Posten af Knud Esmann ..en musikalsk klasse for sig selv i dette land. Man sænker alle parader til hans poetiske fortolkninger af melodierne fra "Den Herlige Amerikanske Sangbog", ligesom han swinger med den rå robusthed, som en ægte jazzkunstner skal mestre.....Lyden fra hans guitar var allerede dengang af den dårende dejlige slags, man helst vil spærre inde sit hoved og tage med hjem.. ..Der spilles vals – "Nature Boy", blues –"Louis Blue Saint", latin –"Once I Loved" og latin-, uptempo-numre og ballader –"September Song", "Uncle Bucket", "Skylark", så man kan have skiven på autoradioen time efter time uden at ønske sig noget andet..  ..Det er, hvad den suveræne balladefortolker Asmussen, som den 28. februar fylder 93 år, i ungt selskab stadig demonstrer og han bliver fulgt til dørs af den eminente trio... Køb den CD ! Få den signeret som det klenodie den bliver. Skylark har næppe fløjet højere og sunget smukkere - Henrik Wolsgaard-Iversen i "..Omsider. Endelig en skive i Jacob Fischers eget navn.." "..Denne usædvanlige og altid overrumplende talentfulde guitarist, i toppen af internationale guitarister.." "..der slår gnistrer og gløder præcis som vi kender Fischer live.." "..Man kan igen undre sig over hvor Fischers fuldstændige sikkerhed i stort set alle guitarens genrer kommer fra.." "..Fischer og Asmussen er geniale sammen - et musikerpar som bør opleves af alle, der holder af kvalitet og inspiration- Langt ud over vores dam.." Læs hele anmeldelsen..  Svensk anmeldelse fra DIG jazz "..For han spiller eventyrligt – som en anden inkarnation af Django Rheinhardt.." ..På den nye cd er hans eminente, fint tilbageholdende spil i suveræn samklang med Svend Asmussens violin "..hans samspil med trioens øvrige medlemmer, bassisten Hugo Rasmussen og trommeslageren Janus Templeton er suverænt.." læs videre.. - Ivan Rod   "..vi iler med at forsikre om, at det er swingende fuldt af god triojazz.." "..Aldrig er han i vaklen eller slinger, når han som ved så mange liveoptrædener inden disse indspilninger akkompagnerer og spiller op imod dansk jazz’ store, gamle violingeni, Svend Asmussen.." "..gennemført dejlig jazz.." -Thomas Michelsen GDCs Pressemeddelelse : Mester guitarist med Violin legende Danmarks mest anmelderroste og prisbelønnede jazz guitarist Jacob Fischer er endelig klar med sin første CD i eget navn. En herligt afvekslende Trio CD med Hugo Rasmussen på bas og Janus Templeton trommer hvor Jacob Fischer virkelig får vist dybden og alsidigheden af sit store talent. Violinlegenden og nationalklenodiet Svend Asmussen er sprudlende og swingende gæstesolist og beviser at 91 år ikke er nogen hindring for at levere sit livs mest gribende ballade fortolkninger.

First of all how to get it :

CD webshop

Jacob Fischer trio feat. Svend Asmussen 119,00DKK

Den skulle skulle også være til at købe i de fleste CD butikker eller i hvert fald kunne bestilles hjem fra distributøren.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the kind people who over the years have been pushing me to make an album under my own name - you know who you are.

Particular thanks goes to Ellen Bick Asmussen for suggesting that Svend should be guest on my album... adding that I shouldn't wait to long :-). If it hadn't been for her, another ten years could easily have gone by.

But its been great fun and now that I've gotten started I have lots of ideas for future recordings..
So I hope you like this one. Please feel free to give me any kind of feedback that might make future efforts more fruitful...

Jacob Fischer : Guitar 
Hugo Rasmussen : Bass 
Janus Templeton : Drums (except 4) 
* Svend Asmussen : Violin

View photogallery from the studio

About the tunes

This is a very long CD - you definitely get your moneys worth with 74:47:00 minutes of music squeezed onto the disc :-) I just couldn't find out which tunes to omit.

So here they are:

listen I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart (Ellington) 04:33
This has been our opener for quite a while now. Its a bluesy arrangement with a little twist at the end.

listen *September Song (Weill) 03:15
Features Svend Asmussen with whom I've had the great privilege to work with for 15 years. Just the recognizability of his sound on the violin is incredible - and a very rare quality these days. A lot of guys can come up with some "signature licks" - check out the sweetness of Svends "signature sound".
The tune by Kurt Weill is a classic on the hot club repertoire and I guess the Django influence is obvious.

Banks (Fischer) 05:13
This tune is dedicated to Paul Banks who is a master fingerpicker blues/rag guitarist and singer who lives i Copenhagen.
It's a 24-bar blues that starts out as a bluegrass tune and it features a nice drumsolo from Janus Templeton.

listen *Skylark (Camichael) 04:15
This masterpiece of a tune written by Svends old friend Hoagy Carmichael is given an intmite trio treatment without the drums(Actually Janus went to the bakery store and when he came back we had recorded this).
It brings back some of the most beautiful moments from my collaboration with Svend : the way he would play a ballad theme during rehearssals would often leave us all stunned at the beauty and emotional richness of his performance.

Uncle Bucket (Fischer) 04:02
Is a pentatonic theme on some kind of afro-jazz groove. Again on the open side..

listen *Nature Boy (Ahbez) 05:37
Svend once again shines on this. I never heard it as a waltz before.. First half is solo guitar

You And The Night And The Music (Schwartz) 03:28
This a fun and tricky little arrangement I did - during a chorus we're going through 3 diffent keys C- A- and Ab-.

When You Wish Upon A Star (Harline) 05:20
Hugo Rasmussens feature on the CD. This sentimental song from Disneys Pinnochio makes people in Denmark think of Christmas instantly, due to its presence in the Disney show broadcast every year on the afternoon of dec. 24.
I just love the sound Hugo gets out of his beautiful 300 year old bass.

listen *Louis Blue Saint (Fischer) 05:02
This is of course a paraphrase on St. Louis Blues. Svend Asmussen actually had to sight-read this new tune in the studio(sorry about that).
You would never think that the guy taking 3 burning choruses on the blues is actually 91 years old at the time.

listen Secret Love (Fain/Webster) 04:19
The modern :-) piece of the album.

Once I loved (Jobim) 05:10
Very, very laid back version of this bossa-nova classic..

Among Trees (Fischer) 05:08

listen Latino (Fischer) 03:52
A tune inspired by the brazilian Choro music.
I actually recorded this tune on a Svend Asmussen album some years ago. Here is a trio treatment.

My Romance (Rodgers) 05:25
Another little arrangement with a key change. This time only two keys.

*Out Of The Past (Golson) 05:22
I used to play this tune with late great tenor player Bent Jädig who seems to be the only guy in Denmark to play it..and hey ! thats where we all come from.. maybe Svend and Hugo passed on a little more from the past than the rest of us - and thanks for that.

It's Only A Paper Moon (Arlen) 03:43
Silly tune. in the good way..

listen *Goodbye (Jenkins) 04:54
What can I say... listen - I've received quite a few complaints that this is the last tune of the album because some think this is the highligt of the whole album - and I wont disagree. But hey - it's a good title for the ending.