CD Review: Torben Waldorff – Holiday on Fire

Torben Waldorff (guitar), Ingrid Jensen (trumpet), Maggi Olin (piano, Fender Rhodes), Drew Gress (bass) & Johnathan Blake (drums)

(Review by Russell).

Danish-born guitarist Torben Waldorff has assembled a stellar quintet to work on his latest project funded by the crowd-funding platform Artist Share. Over a period of several months Torben wrote the seven tunes on Holiday on Fire, Small’s, NYC, offered the intimate stage to premiere the work and the CD is now available to the jazz public.

All compositions are by Waldorff and the track listings on the CD offer an insight into his ideas and intentions; 1. Thyst Intro 2:29 Trumpet on open piano is self-explanatory – an intro featuring Ingrid  Jensen’s trumpet playing directed across the strings of an open piano, the composition of two and a half minutes’ duration. Track six Ironic Tonic 10:06 Simple statements on 7 and 4 requires simple contributions from Jensen, Maggi Olin, piano, Drew Gress, bass and drummer Johnathan Blake. A quintet of this calibre does ‘simple’ better than most. Some of New York’s finest, this is ‘simple’ on an altogether higher level – a ‘less is more’ philosophy. Waldorff’s solos, light of touch, float above the ensemble’s sound.

Holiday on Fire is a superior recording – melodic improvisations, the collective interpreting Torben Waldorff’s concept – on Artist Share (catalogue no. ASO151). Visit: www.waldorff.com.                   Russell.