There Is No Greater Love

Internationally renowned Italian pianist Dado Moroni collaborates with prominent Danish bassist Jesper Lundgaard and versatile American drummer Lee Pearson on the brand new release There Is No Greater Love.

The story behind the release is a number of concerts commemorating the Danish bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, who would have been 70 years old in April, 2015. NHØP was a virtuoso, who innovated the art of playing the double bass, both technically and musically. He was a grand man of decisive importance to jazz history.

An essential part of NHØP’s career was his musical partnership with Oscar Peterson, who loved him for his natural drive, making any creative idea viable instantly. Consequently, we had to find musicians cut from the same cloth in order to give the audience the same feeling – the moment, where the crowd is captivated by the swing.

Dado Moroni, Jesper Lundgaard and Lee Pearson are more than capable musicians. In fact, their preparations merely consisted of a dinner before the concert. They did not rehearse – not even a soundcheck. Their professionalism lies in their sympathy for each other and naturally in years of training in the great American piano trio tradition. The music speaks for itself!

Pianist Dado Moroni has played with NHØP, and he is one of the musicians, who upholds and creatively expands the tradition from Oscar Peterson and the other great American pianists in the European branch of jazz. Moroni is one of the great contemporary pianists, both in his own right and when he plays duo with Kenny Barron. With his fertile creativity he has adapted elements of Peterson (and other American piano masters) to his own unique style and incorporated them into a “European” context. A spell-binding crowd-pleaser!

The Dane Jesper Lundgaard was the obvious choice as the bassist for this trio, he excels with his exquisite technique, perfect overview and great beat. For that reason, he has been a regular sideman in Tommy Flanagan’s, Hank Jones’, Duke Jordan’s and Horace Parlan’s trios. It is a distinct pleasure to listen to Jesper Lundgaard playing on this recording.

Lee Pearson is of the younger generation, trained by Hank Jones and Kenny Barron. He plays with such a drive and fervour that it lights up any trio. Apart from playing with the great jazz pianists, he has also played with Erykah Badu, Snoop Dogg and Spyro Gyra. American drummers are simply special – and Lee Pearson is one of them!

There Is No Greater Love was recorded at Jazzhus Montmartre on May 20-21, 2016 as part of a concert series commemorating NHØP. It swings, it’s effortless and highly creative – and the atmosphere is nothing less than vibrant. As always, the audience had a couple of fantastic evenings with jazz in its purest form, and we are sure you will too!