Julia Hülsmann Trio - Imprint (2011)

Bonn-born pianist Julia Hülsmann just returned with another quartet album that I've still to pick up, so been casting my mind back to when I first discovered her music.  Was browsing the ECM shelves of my favourite local haunt Record Shak, when I found myself drawn to the oddly haunting piano trio piece that was playing over the speaker.  It was (Go And Open) The Door, the midpoint highlight of the Julia Hülsmann Trio's Imprint, their newly-released second album for ECM.

Hülsmann's Bill Evans influence is much discussed, and for me this album still shows her innate harmonic impressionistic sketching at its finest, in deeply entwined improvisation with bassist Marc Muellbauer and drummer Heinrich Kobberling.  Equally at home in more uptempo tracks like Grand Canyon and the closing pair Zahlen Bitte/Who's Next and gorgeous ballads like A Light Left On and the old German showtune Kauf dir einen bunten Luftballon, Julia and partners produced a wonderful, engrossing hour of unshowy trio chemistry that's been ageing like fine wine over the last few years and will continue to do so.

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