"Lisette Spinnler - Sounds between falling leaves"
The falling leaves in autumn, where winds, let loose over the corridors, blow trees bare and barer, leaves floating through the air, creating small whirlwinds on the ground, and all becomes calm... "Sounds between falling leaves" are mostly elegiac, modal songs in simple harmonies. Their movements are gentle, delicate, and inward-directed. In nuances, finest vibrations, and sometimes, as in Cézanne's watercolors, only hinted at, they unfold an imaginary space, a tremendous force from within, from a tenderly virtuoso interplay between calmness, slow flow, and striking accents. Lisette Spinnler's songs are dialogues with nature, inhabiting and touching her soul from childhood. Her songs, the voice in whispers, gleams, and shades, toned and artistically modeled, appear natural and don't clamor for attention – they are events, provided we listen.
This is her most sensual and, in its own way, introverted album to date. The vocalist presents songs, except for "Afro Blue," all written by herself. It is noteworthy that she has set two poems by Emily Brontë to music: the British poet (1818-1848), who wrote under the pseudonym Ellis Bell and published only one novel (Wuthering Heights, 1847) and a single volume of poems (Poems, 1846, together with her sisters Anne and Charlotte Brontë) during her lifetime, celebrated fantasy and nature in her poetry and was an enthusiastic lover of animals. Lisette, sometimes on stage with her own spontaneous language of fantasy, seems to be kindred in spirit.
"Sounds between falling leaves" is also the first album with the current lineup, and Lisette wisely gives her top-notch rhythm section the necessary space. The piano, bass, and drums reveal a signature that is firmly rooted in the present, where collective sound takes precedence over solo brilliance. This naturally gives more weight and significance to the voice, which, when present, is increasingly in the spotlight. The quartet has been working together in a constant lineup for four years: Stefan Aeby on piano, bassist Patrice Moret, and Michi Stulz on drums – all fantastic musicians with fine motor skills, alert minds, and the most sensitive interplay. They bring Lisette's songs to the point and to the fore. The improvisational spaces inherent in the compositions are almost consistently utilized and driven forward collectively, even if here and there a dialogue between two instruments takes up space or one instrument stands out more. Lisette and her musicians are very close throughout the entire album, maintaining the songs and their nature in their own dynamic balance – between falling leaves.
Recording, mixing, and mastering: Daniel Dettwiler Recorded at: Jazzcampus Basel, mobile vintage technology from Idee und Klang Studio, Basel Mixed and mastered at: Idee und Klang Studio, Basel
For more information, visit: www.lisettespinnler.com