Artist: David Helbock & Julia Hofer
Album: Faces Of Night
Label: ACT Music
Link: https://www.davidhelbock.com/
Style: Contemporary Jazz
A classically trained pianist, Austrian David Helbock studied at the conservatory in his hometown before embarking on a course in jazz, during which he ended up playing alongside his teacher Peter Madsen and became involved in his various projects. He recorded as part of a trio before embarking on a solo career, often drawing inspiration from pop music. Julia Hofer, also Austrian, is a cellist, double bassist and electric bassist who divides her time between teaching at the Gustav Mahler University in Klagenfurt, the Jam Music Lab in Vienna and online, and playing in both classical ensembles and pop-oriented groups.
In addition to sharing the same nationality, the two artists have similar backgrounds and a common interest in non-academic music. It is therefore no surprise that they met, and naturally at the confluence of jazz and classical music. With Faces of Night, they still manage to preserve an accessible vision of modernity by avoiding overly abstruse directions. So, despite the great technical skill of the two musicians and their guests, it is still possible to listen without intellectualizing. Accompanying them in this approach are trumpeter Lorenz Raab, guitarist Mahan Mirarab and singer Veronika Harcsa, who feature on some of the tracks.
The clear and light arrangement of the album allows the listener to appreciate the timbres and the expert touch of the instrumentalists. And to influence their tones, Julia Hofer changes instruments throughout the album, switching from cello in ‘Woman’s Dance’ or ‘Theme From Schumann’s Piano Concerto’ to an electric bass verging on funk in ‘Sexy M.F.’. The acoustics of the recording venue and the recording itself remain neutral, allowing the notes to shine, whether they are spread out freely in ‘Round Midnight’ or more lively and percussive, as in the exchange between piano and guitar in ‘Dancing To Another Space’.