Iman Spaargaren, Peter Bjørnild - In Essence (High Resolution Version) (2025) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. My One and Only You (High Resolution Version)
02. My Funny Valentine (High Resolution Version)
03. Stolen Moments (High Resolution Version)
04. I Fall in Love Too Easily (High Resolution Version)
05. In a Sentimental Mood (High Resolution Version)
06. Willow Weep for Me (High Resolution Version)
07. The Man I Love (High Resolution Version)
08. Someday My Prince Will Come (High Resolution Version)
09. Lover Man (High Resolution Version)
10. Sophisticated Lady (High Resolution Version)
11. Here's That Rainy Day (High Resolution Version)
12. My Ideal (High Resolution Version)
13. Manhã De Carnaval (High Resolution Version)

In Essence is a welcome return to subtlety, depth, and direct communication. This new album from Iman Spaargaren (clarinet & saxophone) and Peter Bjørnild (double bass) was made using just one carefully placed Josephson C700S (3-capsule) Stereo Microphone. The entire performance was captured live in the room and recorded directly to Pure DSD 256. It’s an old-school method in a high-tech frame, a reminder that sometimes the most advanced thing you can do is keep it simple.

In Essence is an intimate, thoughtful exploration of the Great American Songbook, featuring songs like ‘My Funny Valentine’, ‘In a Sentimental Mood’, and ‘Stolen Moments’. But unlike most modern jazz albums, these are not elaborate reworkings or long improvisations.

The duo has chosen to keep each track short, distilled down to its melodic and emotional core. It’s as if the goal wasn’t to impress with complexity, but to offer a clear, focused experience of each tune, each one a small, self-contained meditation, a kind of musical haiku, concise, almost fragile in its clarity, capturing the essence of melody and melodic improvisation. The result is music that doesn’t explain itself, it simply is.

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