A quartet consists of five people, at least if the Julia Hülsmann Quartet's latest album is to be believed. Because Hildegunn Øiseth plays on five tracks on Under the Surface - as well as the trumpet, she also plays a goat's horn.

What goes on beneath the surface of Under the Surface is a collective journey of discovery. Each of the four core musicians contributed at least one composition or compositional idea, and band leader and pianist Julia Hülsmann came up with five. Together, the rough drafts were musically illuminated and refined in terms of sound. That works well when read, and when put into practice it is just as pleasing to the ear.

Together with Uli Kempendorff on tenor saxophone, Marc Muehlbauer on double bass and Heinrich Köbberling on drums, Hülsmann creates a diverse jazz fabric. While pieces such as Milkweed Monrach come as little surprise and sound rather conventional, as if they were intended to inspire confidence in the quality of the music, tracks such as They Stumble, They Fall and May Song are freer, fresher and more interesting. Second Thoughts and Bubbles are the gems of the album with their instrumentally sustained mood, but The Earth Below with its broad space for Øiseth's trumpet is also fine fare.

Die Vielfalt der Stücke gefällt auch durch die exzellente Abmischung, die dynamisch, räumlich und akustisch gleicher Maßen überzeugt. Zwar sind die ezn Sekunden Eingangsstille auf fünf Sekunden geschrumpft, aber es ist durch und durch ein Album, dass den Label-Stempel ECM fraglos verdient.

Was das ergibt? In Summe eine Mischung, die gut Unterhält und vielfältige Geschmäcker ansprechen wird. (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)

Julia Hülsmann Quartet:
Julia Hülsmann, piano
Uli Kempendorff, tenor saxophone
Marc Muellbauer, double bass
Heinrich Köbberling, drums
Hildegunn Øiseth, trumpet, goat horn