Sarah Riedel/Common Creature

Sarah Riedel allows the lyrics to leave their mark on the music, which, due to superb comp musicians, is afforded both character and strength.

Sarah Riedel was a pleasant acquaintance in connection with her appearance at the Umeå Jazz Festival. Her excellent articulation, where the message really hits the mark with the audience, is striking. These are lyrics sprung from the borderland between ballads and jazz. Moreover, unusually one might add, she is not only accompanied by three skilled jazz musicians; Carl Svensson on guitar, Viktor Skokic on double bass and Martin Öhman on drums, but also by a string quartet from the NorrlandsOperan Symphony Orchestra, viz. the Avatar Quartet with Kersti Wilhelmsson, Emma Dencker on violin, Åsa Hjelm on viola, Kerstin Isakson on cello.? My impression is that Sarah Riedel prefers to let the lyrics take precedence over the music. The lyrics leave their mark on the music, too. As a consequence, the music is governed by the poetic or the bizarre, and due to superb musicians the comp becomes at the same time individual and fit for an ensemble. The music is afforded both character and inner strength.

Sarah Riedel’s arrangements for the Avatar Quartet appear balanced, and with the use of both pizzicatos and tremolo with the more traditional approach of the jazz trio, the arrangements become an all-absorbing totality for the audience. This was particularly evident in songs like “Coolness” and “Late July”. The tempi are consistently serene in Sarah Riedel’s music, executed by the seven musicians with an intimate approach to the essence of music. As already stated, the music moves in a borderland, but to be sure the three jazz musicians also knew how to improvise and develop themes so as to satisfy the jazz lovers.

Personally, I am in awe of a jazz singer and composer whose musicality and success is on a step to rise. - Bengt Hultman