As Good As It Gets Espen Eriksen Trio & Andy Sheppard

• 1 The Other Side Of Melancholy 04:36
• 2 Endless 04:31
• 3 As Good As It Gets 06:26
• 4 Sticks And Stones 04:01
• 5 Pressure 07:12
• 6 The American 05:34
• 7 Drifting Clouds 06:48
• Total Runtime 39:08

Info for As Good As It Gets

The combination of Espen Eriksen Trio and UK saxophone giant Andy Sheppard is truly a match made in jazz heaven, and in the words of Andy: “I knew from the first time I heard the trio play that I would fit right in. I loved the melodic sense and vibe and was thrilled when I was invited to guest with the trio in London in 2016”.

The common conclusion drawn in reviews of their first album Perfectly Unhappy five years ago was simply “more, please”, and now we are delighted to introduce As Good As It Gets, the quite brilliant follow-up. The two album titles aptly indicate a subtle change in mood, and it ́s fair to say that the new album finds the trio slightly more lively and sunny in parts, still highly melodic and lyrical, often with a typically Nordic melancholic signature (check the Grieg nod in album closer Drifting Clouds). Eriksen is a master of catchy tunes and when Sheppard adds his inimitable playing to the trio ́s minimalistic approach, magic is created.

Espen Eriksen Trio was formed in 2007 and released their debut album in 2010. As Good As It Gets is their seventh album, all on Rune Grammofon. They have toured on four continents, becoming an increasingly popular concert attraction in several countries.

Espen Eriksen, piano
Lars Tormod Jenset, bass
Andreas Bye, drums
Andy Sheppard, saxophone

Espen Eriksen Trio
was formed in 2007 and released their debut album in 2010, with 2020´s "End Of Summer" being their fifth. They have toured on four continents, becoming an increasingly popular live act with a wealth of rich material on their repertoire. The music relies on highly melodic and lyrical instrumentals and a “less is more” approach that is often credited for its unique voice within today’s jazz scene by the international press. To quote BBC in one of their reviews: “A wonderfully plaintive jazz record, abandoned to the lost art of melodic minimalism, stripped back and beautifully near bare. No smoke and mirrors, just the graceful chemistry of superb musicians at the top of their game”. All three musicians have versatile backgrounds ranging from pop to jazz and have played with musicians like Bugge Wesseltoft, John Scofield, Joshua Redman, Dhafer Yousef, John Taylor, Vince Mendoza, Eivind Aarset, Knut Reisersrud, Mathias Eick, Nils Petter Molvær, Thomas Strønen, Odd Nordstoga, Håkon Kornstad, Jarle Bernhoft and Bendik Hofseth.

This album contains no booklet.