Henrik Jensen

“Above Your House”

(Babel Records BDV24159)

Henrik Jensen – double bass, Esben Tjalve – piano, Dave Smith – drums

Henrik Jensen is a Danish bassist, composer and bandleader who has been based in the UK for more than twenty years, having first settled in London following the completion of his studies at the Royal Academy of Music.

He quickly established himself as a busy and reliable presence on the London jazz scene,  touring extensively with vocal trio the Puppini Sisters and also working with saxophonists Pete Wareham and Martin Speake,  flautist  Mauricio Velasierra, pianists Arthur Lea and Will Butterworth, trumpeter Andre Canniere and that great musical maverick, the guitarist and vocalist Billy Jenkins.

As a leader and composer Jensen has released three albums featuring his group Followed By Thirteen, a band that went through a number of line up changes during the course of its existence.

The first Followed By Thirteen release came in 2014 with “Qualia” (Jellymould Jazz), a promising début featuring a quartet of Jensen, pianist Esben Tjalve,  drummer Pete Ibbetson and US born trumpeter Andre Canniere.

In 2016 Jensen introduced a new version of the group featuring Tjalve, Canniere and Italian drummer Antonio Fusco. This line up appears on the excellent “Blackwater” (also Jellymould Jazz), a highly melodic album that built upon the promise of its predecessor and attracted considerable critical acclaim.

“Affinity” (Babel Records, 2020) saw Canniere replaced on trumpet by Rory Simmons, while Ibbetson returned in place of Fusco.

All three Followed By Thirteen albums are reviewed elsewhere on this site, as is a live performance by the first (“Qualia”) edition of the group at Dempsey’s in Cardiff in 2014.

Jensen has also worked extensively with the German saxophonist and composer Peter Ehwald, the pair releasing the duo album “Jensen / Ehwald” for the Music Chamber label in 2012. Earlier the pair worked with drummer Wolfgang Hohn as The North Trio, releasing the excellent “Songs of Trees” on 33 Records back in 2008.

Jensen has also recorded with New Simplicity Trio, a group featuring pianist Bruno Heinen and the then Followed By Thirteen drummer Antonio Fusco. This trio released the album “Common Spaces” on the Babel label in 2017.

Other recordings to feature Jensen’s playing include a 2015 live recording by the Will Butterworth Trio and “Release”, a 2021 release by Bristol based trumpeter Andy Hague’s Double Standards quartet. Both releases are reviewed elsewhere on The Jazzmann.

Jensen’s involvement with the Bristol scene stems from 2020 when he moved to Frome. Somerset, a town that has become a bit of a ‘jazz colony’, with several prominent jazz musicians that were previously based in London escaping from the city to enjoy the comparative tranquillity. These include saxophonists Iain Ballamy and Sam Crockatt, pianists Gareth Williams, John Law and Elliot Galvin, trumpeter Laura Jurd and drummer Dave Smith. Needless to say Frome now has a very active jazz scene.

Frome is also a short hop from Bristol and in recent years Jensen has also become a busy presence on the Bristol jazz scene and beyond, working with Hague, guitarists Steve Banks and James Chadwick, pianist Rebecca Nash and vocalist Sara Colman.

He has recorded with both Banks (“Emboldened”, 2023) and Chadwick (“Inside Out”, 2024) and also with John Law’s Re-Creations group (“Many Moons”, 2023). All of these albums are reviewed elsewhere on The Jazzmann. He also appears on the album “Peaceful Place”, a 2022 release by the London based pianist, vocalist and composer Joy Ellis.

Jensen’s latest album, his fourth as a leader, ditches the Followed By Thirteen name and introduces a new trio featuring the faithful Tjalve at the piano and fellow Frome resident Dave Smith at the drums.

Tjalve lived in the UK for a number of years before returning to his native Denmark. A band leader in his own right the eponymous 2012 release by his band Red Kite is favourably reviewed elsewhere on this site, as is the 2019 Red Kite release “Theory of Colours”. Tjalve is also a member of the trio Human Being Human, led by bassist Torben Bjornskov.

Dave Smith has been a regular presence on the Jazzmann web pages as the leader of the bands Outhouse and Fofoulah, both of which explored the hinterland between European jazz and the rhythms of West African music. He has also been a member of numerous groups associated with the Loop Collective, among them vibraphonist Jim Hart’s Cloudmakers Trio. He also held a high profile position as Robert Plant’s drummer of choice in the ex-Led Zeppelin vocalist’s Sensational Space Shifters band.

Like its predecessor “Affinity” the new album appears on Oliver Weindlig’s long running Babel label and features the distinctive artwork of Aurelie Freoua, who also works as a singer and playwright.

The new recording features eight original compositions from the pen of Jensen and commences with “Blow-ins”, a piece that features a powerful bass groove, firm, deft and imaginative drumming from Smith and darting, melodic piano lines from Tjalve. There’s a strong rapport between the players as the piece unfolds, mutating through a series of dynamic and stylistic changes, with Jensen featuring as a dexterous and articulate double bass soloist.

I assume that the title “Brian Brexit” is a dig at those who voted “leave”. With the possible exception of Evan Parker I don’t know a single jazz musician that was in favour of Brexit. Not surprising really, in addition to the ideological objections touring musicians have also been faced with horrendous logistical and practical difficulties when it comes to performing in Europe, something that was relatively pretty straightforward before the fateful referendum.
Musically the piece is less angry than its title might suggest. It’s generally more relaxed than the opener, commencing with a duo passage featuring Tjalve and Jensen and later finding room for a more conventional bass solo. Jensen allows himself plenty of solo space, but does so in a way that doesn’t become overbearing. Subsequently Tjalve stretches out more expansively, creatively shadowed by the busy Smith as Jensen now adopts more of an anchoring role. Smith’s drums feature strongly in the tune’s closing stages as the anti-Brexit sentiments finally come to the fore.

At a little over eight minutes in duration “The Hunt” represents the album’s lengthiest track. It emerges from a loosely structured intro to embrace a surprising lyricism, with Smith deploying brushes almost throughout. The solos from Tjalve and Jensen are thoughtful, lyrical and melodic, with Tjalve later exploring more expansively and dynamically.

Two of the eight tracks are short solo bass “Intros”, the first of these leading into the composition “The Bridge”, a more vigorous offering featuring Tjalve’s powerful and fluent soloing above supple, consistently evolving bass and drum rhythms. Smith’s drums become prominent in the latter stages, with a dynamic, but neatly constructed drum feature that consistently engages the listener’s attention.

The title track is introduced by the leader’s languid double bass and is a kind of abstract ballad with Smith once more deploying brushes. Lyrical piano combines with melodic double bass on what is arguably the most obviously ‘Scandinavian’ sounding item on the album.

Another brief solo bass “Intro” paves the way for closing track “Last of the Dags”, an attractively melodic composition with something of an orthodox jazz feel about it, combined with a hint of Keith Jarrett style Americana. Tjalve solos joyously and expansively and Smith enjoys something of a flourish in the tune’s closing stages. Leader Jensen seems content to occupy a supportive role, but his bass playing is featured more prominently and to good effect elsewhere on the album.

“Above Your House” received a rather lukewarm review from Stuart Nicholson in the November 2024 edition of Jazzwise magazine, one of his complaints being that Jensen’s bass was too prominent in the mix. It’s not an opinion that I necessarily share – and it is Jensen’s album after all! Stuart also cited a lack of rapport, but given that this is the fourth album that Jensen and Tjalve have made together I was a little surprised at this assessment too. Nevertheless Stuart did feel that there was a degree of creativity on show and that the trio had the potential to expand upon this, so perhaps our opinions of the recording are not that far apart.

As an admirer of the previous work of all three musicians, be it Followed By Thirteen, Red Kite or Outhouse, I rather enjoyed “Above Your House” and I’m grateful to Henrik for bringing it to my attention and for forwarding me a copy. Having enjoyed the album I’d also relish the opportunity of seeing the trio perform live. Given that two of its members now live in the English West Country there’s probably a greater chance that that might actually happen.

“Above Your House” sees Jensen continuing to develop as a writer and a player, this time in the relatively exposed setting of the piano trio. He rises to the challenge with aplomb and there is plenty of interest going on here, whether melodically, rhythmically or harmonically, with the standard of the playing consistently high throughout.

 

 

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