Jansson Lars Trio: Koan 2012

Lars Jansson, pianoThomas Fonnesbæk, bassPaul Svanberg, drums"Most of the music on this album are new compositions. All the songs are dedicated in some way or another to family members, friends, and musicians, but most of all to the Japanese people. Koan, used in the Zen Rinzai sect of Buddhism, is a method of questions and answers to evaluate a monk's state of spirituality, such as "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" For me, music is a kind of Koan. You can of course analyse music in terms of form, tonality, rhythm, and chords, but the experience of it and how music affects people is beyond our rational understanding. Shikantaza is the highest, purest form of zazen, which is to rest in a state of brightly alert attention that is free of thoughts and objects. I have always loved and respected the Japanese people and their culture. I would like to honour the victims of the 2011 tsunami with this music."(Lars Jansson) ...