Mikkel Mark Trio: Touching

Release date: 17-07-2015

Kresten Osgood released two CDs by the underrated Danish pianist Mikkel Mark: "Touching" and "Healing". For 20 years the subtle and brilliant pianism of this unique artist has been a well kept secret by the local jazz audience of Copenhagen. Now finally there are two strong albums to study his art. The Mikkel Mark Trio, completed by bassist Anders Christensen and Osgood himself on the drums, was formed nearly a decade ago playing exclusively in Copenhagen. These two releases constitute Marks first albums as the leader of his own trio. In the past few years Mikkel Mark has surfaced on a couple of albums playing with the great Luther Thomas and many have been waiting to hear his trio on a feature release. The music performed is a combination of carefully selected jazz standards, Wayne Shorter, Bill Evans, Sonny Rollins and J.S. Bach compositions.

The material on both CDs comes from a residency that the trio held at Kind Of Blue - a small club in Copenhagen. The sound is intimate and the playing is relaxed and focused at the same time. This is music that is a part of the well known tradition of jazz piano trio, and yet it is deeply personal. Nobody in the world plays the piano like Mikkel Mark.

Kresten Osgood says of the two releases:
"When I moved to Copenhagen in the late 90 ́s Mikkel Mark was THE pianist in town. I was in complete awe of his clear melodic improvisations and it seemed that he sounded like all the great pianists at the same time yet only like himself. He was enigmatic and eccentric and I felt like I wasn't ready to play with him at the time. Later, he went through a period of inconsistency and then had a spiritual awakening. Although he never lost sight of the piano and continued to work very seriously, there were years where I didn't see him perform. I have been trying to make an album that capture the unique sound of this very special artist for at least 8-10 years.. And now I release two simultaneously to make up for lost time"