Tag: Jan Gunnar Hoff

Genre: Classical
Label: 2L (Lindberg Lyd)
Location: Sofienberg Church, Norway
Release date: December 2016
Recording date: August 2016
Original Quality: Mastering in DXD (352.8kHz/24bit)
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Duration: 00:57:03
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 950 kbps / 1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio
Music: LPCM 2.0 (192kHz, 24-bit)
Music: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (192kHz, 24-bit)
Music: Auro-3D
Music: Dolby Atmos
Note: Auro-3D 9.1 (96kHz/24bit), Dolby Atmos 9.1 (48kHz/24bit)
Size: 19.95 GB

“Music for me, as pianist and composer, is a quest for depth and a quest to find a bridge between my emotions and the piano. When I begin I am uncertain about where the journey will take me and how it will end. It is important that compositions and improvisations constitute a natural whole. And classic songs like “God Only Knows” are stories and they must be told in a personal manner. Putting it all together in an album is exciting and rewarding.” – Jan Gunnar Hoff

STORIES is Jan Gunnar Hoff’s third solo piano album on the 2L label and is a sequel to his critically acclaimed album LIVING from 2013. On the new release Hoff stretches his creative abilities, presenting contrasting compositions and improvisations, in a distinctly personal mixture. Some of the pieces are meditative and expressive, while others have a strong rhythmic vibe. Stories also displays Hoff as an arranger, presenting versions of classics like “God Only Knows” and the traditional Swedish folk song “Värmlandsvisan”.

Immersive Audio is a sonic sculpture that you can literally move around and relate to spatially; surrounded by music you can move about in the aural space and choose angles, vantage points and positions. Dolby Atmos and the Auro-3D on this Pure Audio Blu-ray delivers a new standard in immersion, fully enveloping the audience in a cocoon of life-like audio. Recorded in discrete 11.1 at DXD resolution.

“For meg som pianist og komponist er musikk en søken etter dybde og å finne en bro mellom følelser og instrument. Jeg prøver å fange et øyeblikk eller synke inn i en stemning og deretter bruke de virkemidlene jeg har for å formidle historien. Jeg velger å følge et personlig spor istedenfor å tilpasse meg et stilisert format eller låse meg i en klart definert genre. Dermed vet jeg ikke alltid hvor ferden går eller hvor vi ender til slutt. Det er noe av det som gjør det spennende å jobbe med musikk og med en utgivelse som Stories.” – Jan Gunnar Hoff

STORIES er Jan Gunnar Hoffs tredje solo pianoalbum for 2L og en oppfølger til den kritikerroste LIVING fra 2013. Stories er i likhet med tidligere album influert av klassisk, jazz og populærmusikk og tar konseptet videre i en friere og mere innholdsrik musikalsk palette. Stories viser Hoff som pianolyriker og låtskriver men platen inneholder også kontrasterende rytmiske stykker og versjoner av klassikere som “Värmlandsvisan” og “God Only Knows”.

2l.no

(more…)

Album title: Living
Performer: Jan Gunnar Hoff, piano
Genre: Jazz, Piano
Label: 2L, Lindberg Lyd
Location: Sofienberg Church, Norway
Release date: April 2013
Recording date: August 2012
Original source: DXD (352.8kHz/24bit)
Quality: Blu-ray Audio
Duration: 0:59:58 + 0:06:09 (bonus music video)
Video: MPEG-4 AVC 942 kbps 1920*1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio#1: DTS-HD MA 5.1 / 192 kHz / 12178 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio#2: LPCM 2.0 / 192 kHz / 9216 kbps / 24-bit

LIVING is Jan Gunnar Hoff’s first solo piano album. His personal blend of different styles and influences is presented in its purest form – simply music. Some of Hoff’s pieces are meditative and expressive, while others have a strong rhythmic nerve, creating contrast and variation in the programme.

Jan Gunnar Hoff has worked extensively as a bandleader and jazz artist since 1992, developing a distinctive musical style. His band with a.o. Audun Kleive and Bjørn Kjellemyr had its breakthrough at Vossa Jazz 1995 and later played at the London Jazzfestival, Molde Int. Jazzfestival and several major festivals and venues in Scandinavia.

Hoff’s jazzcompositions have been performed in collaborations with Mike Stern, Pat Metheny, Alex Acuña, Maria João, Mathias Eick and many others. He has made a number of albums in his own name and has composed 180 works for different ensembles. Hoff is also teaching as a professor at the Universities of Tromsø and Kristiansand.

As a sideman Hoff has contributed to numerous recordings in different genres. He was the arranger and ensemble leader of Quiet Winter Night, Grammy-nominated for Best Surround Sound in 2013, an album where he successfully merges elements of jazz, folk and popular music.

Hoff’s collaboration with 2L and Morten Lindberg is continued on LIVING. This is a solo piano journey that carries Hoff’s artistic identity further into his own musical terrain, enhanced by the crystal clear recording from Sofienberg Church in Oslo.

“Hoff’s writing and playing possesses an almost pop-like clarity and concision, but with a far richer vernacular.” John Kelman, AllAboutJazz.com (more…)