Carsten Dahl b. 1967
Carsten Dahl began playing the… Read Full Bio ↴Biography
Carsten Dahl b. 1967
Carsten Dahl began playing the drums at age 9. By 14 years old, he was already a professional drummer / studio musician and at 19 he entered the Rhythmic Music Conservatory. After two years of being taught by legendary jazz drummers Ed Thigpen and Alex Riel, he put drums aside in favour of the piano (an instrument he had never been taught in his life) and applied again to the conservatory - now as a pianist greatly influenced by Jørgen Nielsen and later, Butch Lacy, who had a significant influence on his musical identity both as a mentor, icon and spiritual teacher.
It was in the early 90's that he began to play with Embla and Niels Præstholm, Thomas Agergaard, Anders Hentze and Staffan Svensson. Their first and only CD "EMBLA" was a high point in Danish jazz and displays his freeplaying strongly - something that he would put aside for some years to go deep into the Be Bop tradition. During this time of busy collaboration, Carsten started to develop his unique style, and met (via saxophonist Agergaard) drummer Thomas Blachman and bassist Lennart Ginman. Dahl appears in various of Thomas Blachman's jazz / hip hop projects during the 90's, as well as records from the trio he formed with Ginman and drummer Frands Rifbjerg. Significant are the worldwide highly acclaimed two trio albums "Will you make my soup hot and silver" and "Message from Bud". This trio went on to record a series of albums for the Japanese label Marshmallow - "Blue Train and Be Boppish Rubbish Rabbit”. They also recorded a quartet CD with Bob Rockwell "A child is born".
Along with Thomas Blachman and Lennart Ginman he achieved great success in the trio GinmanBlachmanDahl, earning a reputation for fiery live performances. Somehow he found the time to reunite with his old teacher and drum mentor Ed Thigpen and his trio, including Joe Lovano. They made three recordings together. From the mid-90's and well into the 00's Carsten played with a great range of artists:
Eddie Gomez, Didier Lockwood, Johnny Griffin, Dave Liebman, Phillipe Cathrine, Bent Jædig, Håkon Broström, Richard Boone, Charlie Mariano, Billy Harper, Jerry Bergonzi, Ludz Büchner, Ed Neumeister, Anders Berkrantz, The Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Midtvest, Reuben Rodgers, Gregory Hutchinson, Elliot Zigmund, Bob Rockwell, Arild Andersen, Jon Christensen, WDRBIGBAND, Palle Mikkelborg, Helen Davies, Michala Petri, Ulf Walkenius, NHØP, Hanne Boel, Lars Danielsen, Putte Wickman, Ted Curson, Joe Lovano, Nisse Sandström, Cæcilie Norby, Mads Vinding, Tomas Franck, Lars Moller, Phil Wilson, Jim Snidero, Tom Kirkpatrick, Thomas Hass, Niels Ryde, Richard Boone, Alex Riel, Wynton Marselis, Jesper Lundgaard, Jan Lundgren, Finn Ziegler, Jesper Thilo, Per Goldschmidt, Klaus Rifbjerg, Suzanne Brøgger, Chili Turéll and many, many more.
He appears on more than 150 CD's.
In 2007, Carsten Dahl associated with the classic Ensemble Midvest as artistic consultant, getting the ensemble to work with free improvisation. Among the many projects they worked on together was music for Fritz Lang's classic silent film Metropolis and Charlie Chaplin's CITY LIGHTS.
Carsten Dahl has worked for several years with Bach's Goldberg Variations, arranged for prepared piano, with a release due in October 2014 alongside the Well-Tempered Clavier and Dahl's own 26 Chromatic Inventions - dedicated to Glenn Gould.
In spring 2013 Carsten premiered his work The Fifth Dimension for symphony orchestra (dedicated to Per Nørgaard), with the DR vocal ensemble and the Copenhagen Boys Choir. On 31st October he premiered his first piano concerto, played by the Odense Symphony Orchestra with Marianna Shiviyuan as the soloist. The concert is dedicated to her.
From 1992, Carsten taught as a tenured professor at the Esbjerg conservatory, raising a generation of pianists and setting a new standard for didactic teaching of rhythm in music that became a benchmark within education. In 2011 he was appointed to a 5-year term as professor of rhythmic contemporary music at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. He also works as an ambassador for Mental Health Fund, based on his own experiences, and regularly gives talks about anxiety depressions coupled with solo piano concerts. Solo piano is very important to Carsten Dahl, a challenge where he finds the greatest potential to work with space and time, to create music that relates to the moment. It's for his two solo albums that he's received the DMA Jazz Prize for Best Recording 2004 and 2011. Here he takes inspiration from both classical pianist Glenn Gould and jazz pianists like Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, Cecil Taylor and Bud Powell; cultivating improvisation in extreme situations. There are also clear inspirations from contemporary music and different world regions and folk music - one of very few people able to bring together many global inspirations into one comprehensive personal expression with a clear artistic signature.
Carsten Dahl's career has in recent years been divided between solo piano and the Carsten Dahl Experience. With an uncompromising approach to jazz, he has created music that transcends boundaries and explores new territories. In 2011 Carsten Dahl even returned to his drumming roots with The Crazy Constellation Trio, with Hugo Rasmussen on bass and Søren Kristiansen on piano.
Prizes
Ben Webster Award 1997, Rodovre Music Prize 1997, Jasa Prize 2002, honoured by the Danish Music Council in 2003 for 'Moonwater' and in 2013 for 'DreamChild', DMA Jazz in 2004 for the piece 'Solo Piano', Django D'orPrize in 2006 'Master of Jazz', DMA Jazz in 2011 for the piece 'Effata', and Jazz Specials Prize for album of the year 2011 ‘Metamorphosis’. His new solo CD "Papillon" has just won the Carl Nielsen Prize 2014.
He has also been nominated for the Robert Music Prize for 'Charlie Butterfly', and received the prize of honor EWH with NHOP and Premie for 'DreamChild'. ‘DreamChild' was also nominated for a Grammy in 2013.
On Green Dolphin Street
Carsten Dahl Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A man, a maid, a kiss, and then goodbye
Romance was the theme
And we were the players
I never think of this without a sigh
Lover, one lovely day
Love came, planning to stay
The setting for nights beyond forgetting
And through these moments apart memories live in my heart
When I recall the love I found on
I could kiss the ground on Green Dolphin Street
Lover, one lovely day
Love came, planning to stay
Green Dolphin Street supplied the setting
The setting for nights beyond forgetting
And through these moments apart memories live in my heart
When I recall the love I found on
On Green Dolphin Street
The lyrics of Carsten Dahl's "On Green Dolphin Street" are a poignant reflection on a love affair that is over but not forgotten. The singer remembers a brief and intense romance that took place on the eponymous street, and the emotions that still linger even when the lovers are no longer together.
The song begins with the singer acknowledging that what happened "seems like a dream," but that he knows it really happened. He reminisces about the man and maid who shared a kiss and then said goodbye, and reflects that "romance was the theme and we were the players." Even though the memory is bittersweet and makes him sigh, he can't help but recall it vividly.
The chorus is where the singer really lets his feelings show. He remembers how love came into his life "planning to stay," and how Green Dolphin Street was the perfect setting for the nights they spent together. The memories of that love endure, even though the lovers are no longer together: "through these moments apart memories live in my heart / when I recall the love I found on / on Green Dolphin Street." The singer is so swept up in his emotions that he feels like he could kiss the ground they walked on.
Overall, Carsten Dahl's "On Green Dolphin Street" is a testament to the power of memory and the enduring nature of love. Even when a romance is over, the memories of it can still bring joy and comfort, and the emotions it inspired can still feel as powerful as ever.
Line by Line Meaning
It seems like a dream, yet I know it happened
Although it feels surreal, I still remember what happened.
A man, a maid, a kiss, and then goodbye
There were two people, a man and a woman, who shared a kiss before going their separate ways.
Romance was the theme
The overall focus and subject of the experience was love.
And we were the players
The two people involved were actively engaged in the romantic encounter.
I never think of this without a sigh
Whenever I reminisce on this experience, I can't help but feel a sense of longing or sadness.
Lover, one lovely day
Addressing the lover, one beautiful day.
Love came, planning to stay
A deep love arrived with the intention of lasting forever.
Green Dolphin Street supplied the setting
The location of this romantic encounter was on Green Dolphin Street.
The setting for nights beyond forgetting
The specific location where the romance took place was so unforgettable that it left a lasting impact on the individual's memory.
And through these moments apart memories live in my heart
Despite the distance and time since the romantic encounter, the memories still hold a strong place in the individual's heart.
When I recall the love I found on
When I remember the love I experienced on Green Dolphin Street.
I could kiss the ground on Green Dolphin Street
The individual feels so grateful for the love they found on Green Dolphin Street that they would be willing to show their appreciation by physically kissing the ground where it happened.
On Green Dolphin Street
Reiterating the location where the romantic encounter took place.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, PATTI WASHINGTON MUSIC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC.
Written by: MILES DAVIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind