released January 3, 2010
Recorded in Canada 2007
Mastered December 2009 by Dragan TanaskovIc, Bohus Studios
Catalogue no. TONOM101
Influenced by the 60’s free jazz-scene and more contemporary european approaches, the music of You Had Me At Hello rapidly changes from exploding energy to more meditative and quiet modes. the music stretches from tonal to non-tonal, from minimalistic to dense patterns and textures. All this is resultIng In the many-coloured and detailed universe that defines the sound of the trio.
This european group was founded In 2007 at The Banff Centre of Arts hIgh up in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, where the three members met for the first time. The connectIon was strong and a common musical language was instantly created.
On this release – which is a part of a two volume 7” serIes – the group is joined by two members of the legendary dutch ICP Orchestra: Ab Baars (NL) and Michael Moore (US).
PRESS
www.freejazzblog.org/2010/03/you-had-me-at-hello.html
**** 4 stars
"You Had Me At Hello" is a phrase from the movie Jerry Maguire, with Tom Cruise and Renée Zellweger, it is also a new sax trio with Alexandra Grimal on tenor sax, Adrian Myhr on bass and Christian Skjødt on drums. This French-Norwegian-Danish trio met at the Banff Centre of Arts in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and they connected musically on the spot, sold to each other from the first "hello". Their first recordings are out now, on two 7" vinyl singles, released in 500 copies only, a pretty unique concept.
I must say, Alexandra Grimal is a saxophonist to follow, whether with her own trio, or with this band, she comes up with new ideas and powerful playing.
The second single has Dutch clarinetist Ab Baars and American (but in the meantime half-Dutch) Michael Moore also on clarinet and alto sax. The music is equally open in its possibilities, but somewhat more abstract and eery. The fact that the sax and the two clarinets float and dance around each other makes it also an interesting play with layers of sound.
Both singles are easy to recommend, but possibly harder to get, and even less easy to play: who is still used to change the sides of a single after a couple of minutes?
Stef, The Free Jazz Collective
jazznyt.blogspot.com/2010/03/freejazz-pa-single-you-had-me-at-hello.html
Freejazz på single
To udgivelser på blå vinyl i form af 7" singler er ikke hverdagskost. Men det er et Ålborg-baseret pladeselskab der udgiver jazz inspireret af 60'ernes freejazz heller ikke! Trommeslageren Christian Skjødt er det danske indslag i trioen You had me at Hello, der mødtes på The Banff Centre of Arts i den canadiske del af Rocky Mountains. De to andre medlemmer er franske Alexandra Grimal på temorsax og norske Adrian Myhr på trommer. De tre musikere spiller også sammen i bandet Yuma Yuma.
De to singleplader indeholder musik fra nogle 2007-optagelser. På den ene medvirker hollænderen Ab Baars på klarinet og Michael Moore på klarient og altsax. De er kendte fra bandet ICP Orchestra med Misha Mengelberg og Han Bennink i spidsen. På den anden medvirker altsaxofonisten Oliver Lake.
De i alt fire numre er uforfalsket freejazz i særdeles kort form, det længste nummer varer fem og et halvt minut. Atonal og flydende. Tonal og meditativ. Der skal ikke herske nogen tvivl om, at det er freejazz der lugter af den klassiske 60'er freejazz med et strejf af moderne europæisk kompositionsmusik.
Udgivelserne er et forfriskende initiativ. De giver i det hele taget en gammel pladesamler tårer i øjnene i disse downloadtider. Musikken kan dog også downloades. Fedt med en ultrasmal udgivelse på vinyl, der indeholder musik af holdbar karakter for kendere.
Niels Overgård
CONCERT REVIEW
YOU HAD ME AT HELLO - LIVE AT JAZZKLUB LIMBO
‘As a child I rarely had fever. But when I had, the fever was always accompanied by one particular hallucination, which I got to know and love. I experienced that from the center of my room an invisible and in defined, but nonetheless strongly detectable energy emerged. It was massif, though silent. Forceful like a frozen ball of lightning – static and all embracing. As a grown up I have even more rarely had fever and as of yet, no hallucinations.
However, this Thursday, where the Café at Studenterhuset had been transformed into 'JazzKlub Limbo', I enjoyed several re- encounters with this raw and unfathomable energy of my childhood hallucinations. During the concert of the trio 'You Had Me At Hello', that, lead by the local Christian Skjødt on drums, Adrian Myhr (NO) on double bass and Alexandra Grimal (FR) on saxophones, played one connected, improvised piece, evolving during a small hour.
Quiet, melodic segments alternated with frenetic and more rhythmic developments, which again interchanged with extended and continued explosions of sound, which was exactly what brought me in contact with my past experience of raw and unspoilt energy. These climaxes of the collective improvisation where any thought of time, place and music must surrender to the pure experience of a limitless potential Now, only occurs if the musicians, apart from containing an outstanding musicality, also have the aptitude for profound presence. 'You Had Me At Hello' has this aptitude along with my warmest recommendations.’
Søren Gemmer (Denmark, March 2007)
