Reviews
Various quotes from various reviewers
“This really is a delight, a very different style of jazz, and one that I enjoyed immensely.” – Kev Rowland
“The samples of TKC contain unique compositions and playing; I really appreciated the various techniques Sindvald explore with his music.” – Jeff Williams
“Eclectism and integration are the key words and no one is trying to steal the focus, music first.” – Pierre Tassone
“Un patchwork, belle promenade du début à la fin, tant les melodies sont agréables et l’équilibre des compositions est subtil. Un disque bien écrit et magnifiquement interprété par un groupe de maîtres-musiciens. J’aime beaucoup, et vous?” – Jean-Pierre Lhoir
Review by Kev Rowland
"House of Prog Radio"
The King´s Chamber
“He has gathered together guest musicians who have strengths in different areas, which has allowed him to create an album that in so many ways sounds like multiple bands yet at the same time there is a real identity throughout. This is jazz that has been carefully thought out, music that has been deftly arranged so that everybody has the opportunity to shine but never at the expense of the overall direction. More than a few people will mention Chick Corea when reviewing this album, but there are many different styles at play. One interesting element is the “Hippopotamus” songs. There are ten of these – the longest at 1:48 and the shortest at just 33 seconds, and these solo piano pieces act as palate cleansers. It’s like the sorbet just as you get ready for the next delicious offering, so that it isn’t tainted by what has gone before. This really is a delight, a very different style of jazz to what he pursues with Robin Taylor, and one that I enjoyed immensely.”
– Kev Rowland
A Flamboyance of Flamingos
"House of Prog Radio"
Excerpt:
"For me this means I can listen to this more as a “normal” jazz album as opposed to something which has been smothered out of existence, and playing this is a warming and uplifting experience."
Moonscape
Moonscape
After having walked beside the Nile, this album leads us to the moon. The trip is a little more abstract, less accessible, but certainly not altogether without interest. The walk starts in "the vintage section" with an air of "Ragtime": "Cirque de Lune". Carsten, riding the borders between classical and jazz, is having the good taste to constantly change climate and style, thus avoiding weariness listening to an instrumental album. Petite Hispanic key sopranosax on "Flamenco Duero", jazz-rock mood a la Jean-Luc Ponty or Chick Corea with "The Rule of Thumb". A very nice violin/soprano-sax tango including some prolific piano rhythms entitled "Tango á Deux". And my favorite (as in "The King's Chamber"): piano tunes!!! "Hippopotamus in Memoriam": a beautiful melody reminiscent of the best compositions of the late Esbjörn Svensson and his trio, the “Satie-esqe” "Moon Lake" and something sweet to finish with: "Hippo-Tango" with pianistic finesse and broken parts of a jazz-rock electric guitar. A little note of welcome to spring freshness!
– Pascal Laurent
Laura Bell - album review
This is not really an album I would ever have expected from Carsten, and indeed his name is in rather small print at the bottom of the cover showing he provided the music and lyrics. He graduated from The Royal Danish Academy of Music as a classical saxophonist and is as happy performing with an orchestra as he is with a jazz group, and I have reviewed albums of his which have featured different versions of those styles, but here we find himself moving in a somewhat different direction again. Here we find him providing piano, keyboards and sax for featured solo vocalist Suzanne Bushell. She may be unknown to many of us, but her brother Paul (who also contributes to this) has worked with the likes of Phil Collins, Elton John, Alanis Morissette, Nelly Furtado, and Céline Dion while he has long been bassist and music director for Faith Hill.
For the most part these songs could be considered alternative pop, while Kate Bush is very much an influence, with Carsten often very much in the background as the focus is very much on Suzanne, who has a very jazz style to her performance. The title cut is simply beautiful, with delicate flute making a welcome appearance alongside some gorgeous fretless bass, all making important contributions but never detracting from the vocals. This album is all about storytelling, with the instrumental passages having a very important part to play we move along. Carsten refuses to allow us to sit in one particular area though, so we can move from a cappela into orchestral, or a ballad which involves chamber music. The result is an album which feels incredibly mature and also very much out of time as no-one produces music like this anymore and it feels as if it belongs very to the Fifties or Sixties, with just the instrumentation and the way it is played showing it is from a more modern era.
Yet another very interesting album from Carsten, I wonder what he will come up with next?