New review of Inertia

Immediately, there is something exciting about the concept album, Inertia. For the idea of ​​putting two professors, two pianos, two temperaments together – that’s good. Especially when it comes to piano professors from two different worlds – improvisational music and score music. Inertia is recorded on neutral ground – in the Danish Radio Concert Hall – with Carsten Dahl at one piano, Niklas Sivelöv at the other.

These are two egos that play up to each other, challenge and subtly also try to dominate. When one wants to play fast, the other will pull the tempo down. When one wants staccato, the other wants legato.

And out of that comes a fascinating, challenging and in places very demanding album with improvised music by one of Denmark’s most uncompromising jazz pianists and one of Denmark’s most innovative classical pianists.

It´s about the music – regardless of genre.

That, in fact, is what Inertia’s quality is: that the two masters want the naked truth, despite all the vexing dissonance.

Ivan Rod

**** / Amchara Classical / Naxos / 46 min.