ACOUSTIC LOUNGE is a Danish jazz outfit who, as their name implies, specialise in what we could best call “lounge jazz”- a gentle sound, not too demanding, easy-on-the-ear, relaxing and engaging. The quintet comprise founders Mikkel Schnettler and Michael Hartvig (both percussionists) alongside vocalist/pianist Soren Baun, bassist Jesper Bodilsen and saxophonist Claus Waidtløw.
The band’s debut album won over two million streams, encouraging them to offer more of the same on their upcoming long player, ‘Alone Together’. The album is a concise ten tracker and you can probably guess some of the songs. Well, it’s lounge jazz and easy listening (maybe?), so there has to be a Burt Bacharach in there and possibly an Antonio Carlos Jobim too? Spot on! Here enjoy new, clever versions of Burt’s ‘What The World Needs Now’ and Jobim’s ‘One Note Samba’ . Then there’s the jazz standards ‘Alone Together’ ( for which the album is named) and ‘Ladybird’ and the perennial ‘Shadow Of Your Smile’ .
So far so obvious… but let’s factor in an Elvis song (‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’), and one from the Steely Dan songbook (‘Time Out Of Mind’) and you see right away that with this band nothing is as obvious as it seems at first glance! Even more surprising, maybe , are the covers of Sam Sparro’s ‘Black And Gold’ and Pharell’s ‘Happy’ . Both, like the other 8 cuts, delivered with flair and enthusiasm and, without a conventional drum kit driving the tunes, they do sound, as all real covers should, “different”.
Helping the Acoustic Lounge team deliver their “differences” is horn player Lars Vissing and if you fancy something just a little different but eminently relaxing and laid back you need to make a note that Acoustic Lounge’s ‘Alone Together’ will be released July 8th via Mingus Records.
