Siril Malmedal Hauge & Kjetil Mulelid: Blues and Bells
Grappa Musikkforlag

In hindsight the pairing of vocalist Siril Malmedal Hauge and pianist Kjetil Mulelid feels predestined. While Blues and Bells is their first release as a duo, the two have known each other since attending the jazz academy in Trondheim more than ten years ago and have worked together regularly since 2013, first in the project Fieldfare and then on two of Hauge's solo releases. That they would eventually formalize their union with an official duo project seems like a natural and inevitable step. Both have made names for themselves in the Norwegian music scene through album releases, tours, and Norwegian Grammy Award nominations. Mulelid has made ten albums with the terrific quartet Wako and also issued recordings with his own trio and as a solo pianist. Hauge has likewise released solo albums and toured in many parts of the world, including Europe, Japan, and South Korea.

While cover versions of enduring standards and recent classics make up the majority of Blues and Bells' eleven songs, originals show the two to be distinguished writers also. Recorded over three days in September 2022 at Oslo's Propeller Studio and produced by the duo, the album presents a refreshing update on the vocals-and-piano tradition and inspired treatments of songs both familiar and new. A few guests participate, but for the most part the recording's a memorable document of Hauge's distinctive vocalizing and Mulelid's piano artistry, the latter enhanced by the C. Bechstein grand piano he plays throughout.

The opening songs, “When Wind Fades,” an original by Hauge that muses upon dementia-related demise, and a cover of the jazz ballad “Never Let Me Go” (Jay Livingston-Ray Evans), bring a palpable live feel to the album when the one flows into the other. Immediately striking is the purity of Hauge's voice, which resonates beautifully when paired with her partner's tasteful voicings. The balance achieved between them is worth noting, too. Whereas some piano-and-vocal pairs treat the keyboard as a secondary support, in this case each element is equally emphasized. A thoughtful balance also informs Hauge's approach, which doesn't stray so much from a song's melody line that the piece loses its character; that said, she doesn't shy away from liberally expanding on the song either, much like the way Mulelid does in his own extemporizations. Though his “For You I'll Do Anything” appeared in instrumental form on both his solo piano album and the trio set that followed a year later, it plays here as if the lyrics Hauge wrote for it were present from the beginning. With the words added, the song now seems even more complete.

A trio of standards covers introduces the album's second half, a stirring take on Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer's arrestingly beautiful “Emily” first, an intimate rendering of “Blame It on My Youth”(Oscar Levant-Edward Heyman) second, and finally a coquettish version of “Body and Soul” (Johnny Green-Edward Heyman) that includes a trumpet contribution from Hildegunn Øiseth. One final cover, “For All We Know” (J. Fred Coots-Sam M. Lewis), impresses for being heartfelt and tender.

A lovely rendition of “I Can't Make You Love Me” appears, its emotional impact intensified by the inclusion of Øiseth's goat horn. Bonnie Raitt's classic version is much-loved, but the version here is anything but a pale substitute when the makeshift trio invests the performance with so much feeling. As strong is the cover of Nick Drake's “Northern Sky,” as timeless and powerful a pop song as one could conceivably be, and with Henriette Eilertsen's acrobatic flute solo added to Mulelid's arrangement the song proves even more irresistible. While those treatments don't radically depart from the tone of the originals, the duo's makeover of Cocteau Twins' “Cherry-Coloured Funk” (from Heaven or Las Vegas) surprises for being a dark and cryptic reinvention.

April 2023