Description
Recording a Christmas album is an idea that I've had for several years, and I was very happy when Ole gladly agreed to join this project as a pianist and arranger. I gave Ole my suggestions for melodies and had a few ideas for the arrangements, but otherwise, Ole had complete freedom. I grew up with most of these melodies myself, while others are tunes that I've heard in various contexts over all the years I've played around the Nordic countries. Ole, Kristian, and I have often played together, and we recorded everything in two days - as a trio, duo, and quartet. On a few tracks, I overdubbed one or more bass parts, and on the hymn "Jul, jul, stralande jul" I play five different bass lines. "Karl-Bertil Johnssons julafton" is a tribute to Arne Domnerus, with whom I played for over 15 years. Klas Lindquist plays on that track. I am incredibly proud of the result. When I was 17, I heard bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen's trio in Karlstad, and the pianist in the trio was NHOP's long-time collaborator, Ole Kock Hansen. I had started playing electric bass a few years earlier, but after that concert, I wanted to start playing double bass, and just over a week later, I had managed to find an inexpensive double bass. Over the years, Ole has played with many of the absolute greatest names in jazz - Ben Webster, Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, and more - and he has had an enormous impact on the Scandinavian jazz scene as a pianist and arranger for big bands, choirs, symphony orchestras, and more. Over the past ten years, I've had the pleasure of playing with Ole in several contexts - he is my favourite! - Hans Backenroth
