Lars Jansson / Thomas Agergaard

Release: June 2, 2023

The duo setting is regarded by many as one of the most demanding, intimate, and personal musical undertakings one can take on, and the upcoming album by Lars Jansson and Thomas Agergaard is certainly no exception. Both celebrated as significant, influential figures in Scandinavian Jazz, their spacious, introspective joint personal statement ‘Garden of Sounds’ is set to release on June 2nd on Arts.

Paying homage to some of their greatest influences including John Cage, Wayne Shorter, Keith Jarrett, Charlie Haden, Duke Ellington and George Gershwin, the album’s 18 tracks are a tribute to the quiet moments and magic of daily life.

With a strong undercurrents of contentment, curiosity and exploration, each piece has a strong thematic focus and is almost programmatic in nature. “Everyday” celebrates the peace and happiness one can find in the routines of their lives, “Kids Playing” explores the innocence and freedom found innately in children, and “Memories of Summer” is about the simplicity of just recalling past summers, but also with an inherent melancholy regarding the passing of time and of past memories.

Delivering comfort and melancholy in equal measure, stylistically the pair’s compositions sit somewhere between the traditional, European, and free sub-styles of jazz. The gentle swing feel and familiar standard structure of ‘I Loves You Porgy’ provides a stark contrast to the exploratory freeness and unpredictability of ‘Birds Flying Suite’, which is impressively the first time the experienced duo have attempted to perform in this style.

Ebbing and flowing between composition and improvisation, the duo navigate their garden of ethereal contemporary harmony and meandering melodies with the ease and a sense of playfulness. The beautifully captured natural recording enables the listener to picture themselves in the room with these masters of the Scandinavian idiom, and reflect on the magic of their own stories.