Pablo Held

Pablo Held
Held at the KLAENG Festival, 22 June 2013
Held at the KLAENG Festival, 22 June 2013
Background information
Born (1986-12-27) 27 December 1986 (age 38)
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer
InstrumentPiano
Years active2000s–present
LabelsPirouet
Websitepabloheld.com
Pablo Held in Aarhus, Denmark 2017

Pablo Held (born 27 December 1986) is a German jazz pianist and composer.

Life and career

Held was born on 27 December 1986.[1] He is from Hagen.[2] His father played the piano and introduced him to the music of Federico Mompou.[3] Held was also influenced and taught by pianist John Taylor.[2] Held won the WDR Improvisation Prize in 2011.[2]

Parts of a concert with guitarist John Scofield in Cologne in January 2014 were released as The Trio Meets John Scofield.[4][5]

Held's album Recondita Armonia was reviewed by Down Beat: "Held puts an individual spin on the typical ballad album by drawing on all classical themes."[3]

Playing and composing style

Pianist Kit Downes observed that Held "has developed a way of performing with his trio where all 3 of them know each others parts for every tune – so anyone can cue any part of any tune by just playing a small part of it (even if it's in the middle of another tune) – so that they then seamlessly link in other material to the mix".[6]

Discography

An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.

As leader/co-leader

Year recorded Title Label Personnel/Notes
2007 Forest of Oblivion Pirouet Trio, with Robert Landfermann (bass), Jonas Burgwinkel (drums)
2009 Music Pirouet Trio, with Robert Landfermann (bass), Jonas Burgwinkel (drums)
2010 Glow Pirouet Ten-piece band, with Sebastian Gille (tenor sax, soprano sax), Niels Klein (tenor sax, soprano sax, bass clarinet), Menzel Mutzke (trumpet), Kathrin Pechlof (harp), Hubert Nuss (celesta, harmonium), Henning Sieverts (bass, cello), Dietmar Fuhr and Robert Landfermann (bass), Jonas Burgwinkel (drums)
2012 Live Pirouet Trio, with Robert Landfermann (bass), Jonas Burgwinkel (drums); in concert
2013 Elders Pirouet Sextet, with Jason Seizer (tenor sax), Domenic Landolf (alto flute), Ronny Graupe (guitar), Robert Landfermann (bass), Jonas Burgwinkel (drums)
2014 The Trio Meets John Scofield Pirouet Quartet, with John Scofield (guitar), Robert Landfermann (bass), Jonas Burgwinkel (drums); in concert
2015* Recondita Armonia Pirouet Trio, with Robert Landfermann (bass), Jonas Burgwinkel (drums)
2016? Lineage Pirouet Trio, with Robert Landfermann (bass), Jonas Burgwinkel (drums)
2017* Glow II Pirouet With Niels Klein (saxes, clarinet), Philipp Gropper (tenor sax), Claus Stötter (trumpet), Ronny Graupe (guitar), Hubert Nuss (harmonium, celeste, pocket organ), Henning Sieverts and Robert Landfermann (bass), Jonas Burgwinkel (drums), Christian Weidner (alto sax), John Schröder (guitar); some tracks in concert
2018* Investigations Edition Trio, with Robert Landfermann (bass), Jonas Burgwinkel (drums)
2020? Ascent Edition Most tracks quartet, with Nelson Veras (guitar), Robert Landfermann (bass), Jonas Burgwinkel (drums); one track quintet, with Jeremy Viner (clarinet) added; one track sextet, with Veronika Morscher (vocals) added[7]

As sideman

Year recorded Leader Title Label
2012* Sebastian Gille Anthem Pirouet
2013* Bastian Stein Diegesis Pirouet
2013 Niels Klein Loom Klaeng
2014* Jason Seizer Cinema Paradiso Pirouet
2016* Peter Weiss The Good View Jazzsick
2016* Oliver Lutz Poolparty Klaeng

References

  1. ^ "Pablo Held". Pirouet Records. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Postcards from Cologne (2). The WDR Jazz Prizewinners Concert". (31 October 2011) London Jazz News.
  3. ^ a b Bambarger, Bradley (January 2016) "Pablo Held Trio – Recondita Armonia". Down Beat. p. 66.
  4. ^ Woodard, Josef (April 2015) "Pablo Held – The Trio Meets John Scofield". Down Beat. p. 56.
  5. ^ Boeckstaens, Andy (23 December 2014) "CD Review: Pablo Held – The Trio Meets John Scofield". London Jazz News.
  6. ^ Downes, Kit (28 November 2013) "Preview: Kit Downes Writes About Pablo Held. Double Bill with Both Trios – Pizza Express. 5th December". London Jazz News.
  7. ^ Sachs, Lloyd (April 2020). "Pablo Held: Ascent". DownBeat. Vol. 87, no. 4. p. 56.