Palle Danielsson RIP

[Tenor Freak]

Heard today from Peter Erskine's Twitter feed that Nils Paul "Palle" Danielsson, a member of Jarrett's European quartet and a stalwart of numerous ECM sessions, often in partnership with the Norwegian drummer Jon Christensen, has passed away. RIP.

One of my favourites from his work with Garbarek was the LP Dansere. This is excellent and shows his musicality:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie-neeihQNI

[Tenor Freak]

Another favourite ECM session Danielsson played on was Litania: Music of Krzysztof Komeda from 1997. I once requested Alyn play Ballad for Bernt on JRR, but love this too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddBXrMRCVpo

[anorak]

Here's Palle Danielsson in action, RIP....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P06iM-UGi3s

[Ian Thumwood]

I saw Palle Danielsson with Peter Erskine's trio that featured John Taylor at Turner Sims back in the 1990s in a double bill with John Abercrombie. I loved that trio at that time and always felt it was one of the best projects John Taylor was involved with.

The Litania record is fantastic but I also like the music from Dansere which I have never heard before. Danielsson was one of the finest bassists in jazz over the last fifty years. This kind of music represents the apogee of European jazz. The discs ECM put out in 70s and 80s were defining of that era. It is a shame that Jan Garbarek changed tack so radically in the late 80s and I wish he had stayed within the jazz mainstream like Danielsson as opposed going into New Age musaķ.

[Ian Thumwood]

Working from home today, I dug out the 'Personal Mountains' which is cd that captures live concert by Keith Jarrett's European quartet that included Daniellson. I had not played this record for ages but I think it is a defining record in post war jazz. It is an exceptional recording with the 3 central tracks having a
rhythmic feel which is sublime. I think these tracks are as good as jazz gets. For my money, this is the best Jan Garbarek has sounded on record as he was playing at the same level of creativity at Keith Jarrett. I have to say that Garbarek's freer playing was the late 60s has always struck me as a bit fake whereas his post mid 80s work is too close to New Age music and deserves the same opprobrium as Kenny G. I was seriously disappointed with what Garbarek produced after this record came out in 1989.... ten years after the concert. It feels like he squandered his potential. The more jazz orientated work.from the 1970s was his peak. I was a fan of his work in the 1980s yet I feel that his own groups have stood up poorly in the intervening 40 years. It may have highly original in it's approach at the time but Garbareks subsequent work almost sounds cosmetic in comparison with the real music he was making with Jaŕrett.

The Euopean quartet was one of the greatest groups in jazz of the last 50 years. This live recording is a high point in my opinion.