Elsa Bergman Playon Crayon - Playon Crayon

Artist: Elsa Bergman Playon Crayon

Title: Playon Crayon

Label: Bergman Inspelningar 

Catalog number: BI005 

Release date: 2023-03-09

Format: 12" Vinyl /CD

“The idea for Playon Crayon definitely came from an urge to find new directions for my music, while still maintaining the feel of freedom and improvisation,” says Bergman. “The ideas for many of the scores came from free improvisations that I did in other groups, improvised music that I listened to, or from places I wished that improvisations I did had gone into. I have come to realize that I always visualize music, especially when improvising.” There is a palpable delight the viewer can sense in looking over the scores she created for the project, which arose soon after she gave birth to her daughter. Indeed, there is a child-like simplicity to them that belies their clear utility. Bergman’s ability as an improviser has been manifest in many of the group’s she’s been involved in, including Anna Högberg’s Attack! and an exploratory trio with pianist Lisa Ullén (both Högberg and Ullén have also worked with graphic scores) and drummer Anna Lund, but Playon Crayon does seem to liberate her natural proclivity for playing with time in fluid ways. She assembled the group with shared languages in mind, enlisting the endlessly exploratory Norwegian percussionist Matilda Rolfsson, whom Bergman befriended while studying in Trondheim between 2009-2012. Portuguese trumpeter Susanna Santos Silva is not only a linchpin of the Stockholm improvised music scene, but she also worked with Bergman in all three of the large ensembles projects that worked with graphic scores in 2018. Looking for another string player, Bergman enlisted the wonderful American expat violinist Katt Hernandez, a season improviser with experience on both sides of the Atlantic. Finally, Bergman had listened to distinctive playing of guitarist David Stackenäs since she was in high school, and she finally had the chance to work with him in this quintet.