Sunna Gunnlaugs
The Washington Post described her music as possessing “such timeless virtues as lyricism and grace... elegantly bridges soul-searching passages with uncluttered swing.” Sunna Gunnlaugs reaffirms that assesment on her latest CD, Long Pair Bond which features fellow Icelander bassist Thorgrimur Jónsson and long-time cohort Scott McLemore on drums. It’s her first trio album since her debut in 1997, and now a more mature, more experienced Gunnlaugs presents this music in an unhurried, contemplative fashion. Ironically, it is the spaces she leaves that creates a sense of urgency throughout the recording.
Gunnlaugs proves that jazz can have a wider appeal without losing integrity.—All About JazzEqually influenced by such American pianists as Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, and Scandinavians like Bobo Stenson and Jon Balke, Sunna has found a way to make music to which people on both sides of the Atlantic can relate. Her own charming brand of romantic lyricism soaring over a driving American rhythm section appeals to jazzers and non-jazzers alike.
As a child growing up on a small peninsula called Seltjarnarnes not far from Reykjavik she began taking lessons on the organ at the urging of her mother. The idea of playing the piano didn't appeal to me as a kid. I associated it with classical pianists who seemed to have no fun. But on the organ you could play anything, the Beatles, polkas, Strauss and that seemed like more fun. By her teens, having realized that you could in fact play a variety of music on the piano, it was the gift of a Bill Evans trio record (appropriately named You're Gonna Hear From Me) that sold her on modern jazz.
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- Long Pair Bond by William Carey
- Long Pair Bond by John Kelman
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- Live in Europe by John Kelman
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November 02, 2013
Enter the "Sunna Gunnlaugs - Distilled" Giveaway at All About Jazz!
July 21, 2013
Sunna Gunnlaugs Trio Releases "Distilled" on Sunny Sky Records
December 09, 2011
Enter the "Sunna Gunnlaugs - Long Pair Bond" CD Giveaway at All About...
November 26, 2011
Piano: Sunna Gunnlaugs; Dred Scott Trio
October 22, 2011
Pianist Sunna Gunnlaugs releases new album at the London Jazz Festival
July 30, 2010
Sunna Gunnlaugs: Pay What You Want Summer Sale
June 14, 2010
The Jazz Session #177: Sunna Gunnlaugs
May 26, 2010
Make the Dream a Reality with Sunna Gunnlaugs
December 15, 2009
Sunna Gunnlaugs 3-Day Holiday Download Special
June 10, 2009
What the European press is saying: “... Sunna Gunnlaugs’ Trio whose cool atmospherics and meditative quality draws on Icelandic folk melodies and brooding soundscapes, yet internally has an unhurried Bill Evans-like swing and an appetite to explore the inner soul.” — Jon Newey, Jazzwise, UK
“[The Dream] vielschichtiges Album von Sunna Gunnlaugs, die den Hörer auf eine musikalisch anspruchsvolle und doch kurzweilige Reise mitnimmt.” —Jazz Podium, Germany “[The Dream] ...überrascht aber immer wieder durch gedankliche Details und konveniert als scheuklappenlose, flexible Pianistin” — Concerto, Austria Mais globalement, son “Mindful” ne manque pas de charme et témoigne d’un hommêteté suffisamment rare pour que l’on retienne son nom
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