Album Notes

Working with Sophie Dunér.

Ordinarily, I turn down requests to work with jazz musicians. I’m not a jazz musician myself and can’t see what I could possibly offer. In the past however, I have been interested in the creativity that certain classically trained jazz musicians bring to their own compositions. This unique fusion seems to produce some of the most creative people I’ve encountered. One of these is certainly Sophie Dunér. When she first sent me a CD with some of her works and ideas for comments I was impressed at how individual her musical ideas sounded, not just as a singer and song-writer, but most profoundly as a composer. The sound-world we meet with Dunér is one of the most hybrid of all: it combines the quintessentially classical string quartet with what I would describe as ‘jazz art-song’.
I knew nothing of Sophie Dunér when she first contacted me, but it did not surprise me to learn that she was not only a composer and singer of obvious talent and ability but also a painter. Her songs are clever, evocative and carry a narrative that keeps one engaged – this is not passive ‘lounge-lizard’ music no matter what it may flirtatiously evoke from time to time. Her singing – which can often be quite virtuosic - never allows one to ‘lie-back and check-out’ but keeps the listener riveted. The melding of text to music displays illustrative ingenuity – made more impressive when considering that she’s writing in her second language.
As a producer of classical recordings, I inevitably have to comment on the musical competence. It’s impressive to get a combo together and improvise, but for classical recording this is a frustrating technique. It’s fine if the takes are not only spontaneous but note-perfect. However I know from experience that this is almost never the case. Without a script to work from, trying to combine the best takes is challenging. Sophie Dunér leaves nothing to chance despite the spontaneity of the music and the occasional free-style improvisations she allows for individual players. Otherwise, everything is scrupulously notated. She works with old-fashioned manuscript paper, pencils and erasers. She prefers classical recording techniques – not overdubbing one instrument on top of the other. The members of the quartet explained the advantages of modern notational programmes that even play-back what’s been written and Sophie was politely attentive. She was generous when small points of voice leading were pointed out or difficult double-stopping raised eyebrows and caused concern. Yet it was clear that she trusted nothing more than her inner ear which gave her the best image of what she wanted.
She’s a unique artist with an individual musical palette, a talented songwriter and stunning singer. I learned an enormous amount working with her and watching her get down to business with other musicians. As a person, she’s serious, quiet and more of a listener than a talker – this too comes across in her use of words and ideas. This CD is very much her creation and the recording team only made sure we could capture and manage the takes.  As such, I’m delighted that we could participate but regardless of what we may or may not have added to Sophie’s artistry, it was an unforgettable experience working with a uniquely talented artist.

Michael Haas.