There's no denying the benefit of stable longevity, but neither is there anything wrong with change. Following three ACT recordings that featured her trio—together since Scattering Poems (ACT, 2003)—supporting a series of vocalists, Julia Hülsmann moved to ECM, where the pianist was afforded greater freedom to more fully explore her trio's potential on 2008's The End Of A Summer and 2011's Imprint. Both albums presented a trio beyond anything left to prove and functioning in thoroughly egalitarian fashion, both compositionally and in performance.
In Full View ups the ante, expanding Hülsmann's trio to a quartet with the addition of British trumpeter Tom Arthurs. Continuing Imprint's more outgoing direction has not come at the expense of the gentle elegance endemic to the trio's ECM debut; instead, Arthurs' voice expands the group's reach without losing anything carved out since Hülsmann's move to the label.
It's hard not to feel ex-ECM alum (and fellow UK-resident) Kenny Wheeler's influence—not just on Arthurs' playing, but in the quartet's overall engagement. Avoiding Wheeler's signature intervallic/stratospheric leaps but referencing the Canadian expat trumpeter's rich tone and melancholic approach to lyricism, Arthurs' broader interest in contemporary classicism and Afro-centric music afford the younger trumpeter his own specificity.
Some of the vibe from Wheeler's early ECM recordings—in particular the similarly configured, award-winning Gnu High (1976)—imbues Hülsmann's quartet, especially on drummer Heinrich Köbberling's "Forever Old," which manages to swing gently despite being in 5/4, and an initially darker, rubato piano/trumpet intro that leads to bassist Muellbauer's similarly odd-metered but smoothly flowing and gradually intensifying "Meander," its simmering pulse strengthened by the bassist's robust foundation and Köbberling's subtle shadings. Arthurs' episodic "Forgotten Poetry" is also underscored by a Wheeler connection, its deceptively simple melody weaving through some change-heavy balladry, time briefly contracting and expanding before settling into some understated interplay between Arthurs and Hülsmann until the trumpeter removes himself, ultimately leaving the pianist to ruminate over Muellbauer and Köbberling's firm yet pliant support.
The group also simmers on Muellbauer's quirky "Dedication," Hülsmann constructing a solo of near-perfect poetry, while the initial melody of the pianist's title track is doubled on bass and flugelhorn before a stronger groove leads first to an even more serpentine theme, doubled on horn and piano, before solos from Hülsmann and Arthurs emerge, dichotomic paradoxes of restrained energy that ultimately unfold over more fervent propulsion.
Fiest's "The Water" is one of three covers on In Full View—another change over previous sets' sole non-originals— but it's the best-known. Still, just as Hülsmann's cover of Seal's "Kiss From a Rose" was an unexpected gem on The End Of A Summer, covering Feist here proves the pianist's quartet as capable with a simpler song form as it is more complicated fare.
Beyond the obvious addition of a fourth voice, there's a stronger sense of effortless collective aplomb on In Full View. If Wheeler's spirit looms large over the session, Hülsmann could certainly do far worse; and if Arthurs is a permanent addition to the pianist's decade-old trio, where this sublime quartet goes next will be well worth the attention. - John Kelman
Pianist Julia Hülsmann's 2013 album, In Full View, is her third for ECM and her first with her quartet. The German-born Hülsmann usually works in a trio setting, but with In Full View she has expanded her sound, collaborating with British trumpeter Tom Arthurs. These are ruminative, long-form pieces that bring to mind the sound of such similarly inclined artists as pianist Keith Jarrett and trumpeter Kenny Wheeler. Hülsmann has a languid, harmonically rich approach to playing the piano that is beautifully offset by Arthurs' own investigative, somewhat plaintive improvisational style. Many of the tracks here, such as "Dunkel,""Richtung Osten,""Forgotten Poetry," and the quartet's fittingly brooding take on Leslie Feist's "The Water," mix classical and folk song-influenced melodies with expansive modal jazz forms that fit nicely into the ECM jazz tradition. - Matt Collar
German pianist Julia Hulsmann's playing balances the familiar and the mysterious: her timing, harmonic sense and turn of phrase all reveal a deep jazz awareness, but her spacey meditations suggest a more abstract and impressionistic contemporary music. Hulsmann's recent trio albums for ECM have been widely acclaimed, and she broadens her appeal here by involving Berlin-based English trumpeter and flugelhornist Tom Arthurs. The predominantly brief pieces here are mainly low-lit ruminations by Hulsmann and bassist Marc Muellbauer: there's the Wayne Shorteresque Quicksilver, with its deployment of Arthurs' lustrous sound at either end of the register; Hulsmann's slowly pulsing Dunkel (on which the Englishman is at his most Kenny Wheeler-like); plus a group of very slow pieces and then the more postboppishly intricate Meander. A spellbinding trio account of singer/songwriter Feist's The Water and an imploring muted-trumpet interpretation of Manuel de Falla's Nana are the only covers. Julia Hulsmann's work often unveils its secrets slowly – Tord Gustavsen admirers might be natural recruits to her fan club – but Arthurs quickens the process here. - John Fordham
Tracks
01. Quicksilver (Marc Muellbauer)
02. Dunkel (Julia Hülsmann)
03. Gleim (Marc Muellbauer)
04. Forever Old (Heinrich Köbberling)
05. Spiel (Julia Hülsmann)
06. Richtung Osten (Furie Udo)
07. The Water (Brenda Canning)
08. Forgotten Poetry (Tom Arthurs)
09. Dedication (Marc Muellbauer)
10. Snow, Melting (Julia Hülsmann)
11. Meander (Marc Muellbauer)
12. In Full View (Julia Hülsmann)
13. Nana (Manuel de Falla)
JULIA HÜLSMANN piano
MARC MUELLBAUER bass
HEINRICH KÖBBERLING drums
TOM ARTHURS trumpet, flugelhorn
Recorded June 2012 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo
ECM Records – ECM 2306 (Germany)