'Heartshaped' by Lilly Hertzman

There's an elegant poignancy to the release of Lilly Hertzman's 'Heartshaped' that draws a wonderful conclusion to a much earlier stage of her career.  

As an esteemed singer and songwriter, the Danish-based artist continues to introduce inspired perspectives of versatility and grace to her music that has seen her helm six studio albums to date, perform around Scandinavia and the US, collaborate with an extensive array of musicians and prove to be a highly decorated artist in her own right.  

'Heartshaped' finds Hertzman reconnecting with revered US pianist Aaron Parks following their initial encounters which date back to 2014 where their creative sessions in Denmark generated a selection of songs that would remain incomplete.  Their subsequent reconnection for 'Heartshaped' would afford them the opportunity to revisit these treasures-in-waiting and present them as prominent aspects to Hertzman's latest offering.

It would no doubt have proved a fascinating experience for Hertzman and Parks to revisit these pieces after so long almost assessing them through entirely new perspectives as artists who have continued to learn and grow in that time.

For Hertzman, the time since then not only garnered two further albums ('Menneskeblomst' in 2016 and her duo album with New York-based guitarist Gilad Hekselman in 'Tenderly'), but would also have helped to cultivate an artist whose understanding that the values of patience, poise and hard work continued to form a significant part of her musical make-up.  For Parks, his star has also continued to rise with a litany of projects released in that time that further cemented his status as an in-demand band leader, performer and collaborator.

Through continued recordings, performances, collaborations and the inherent passing of time, 'Heartshaped' becomes an album that demonstrates Hertzman's own personal growth and indelible successes over the last ten-plus years.  With a career spanning considerably longer of course - Hertzman's debut full-length came by way of 'Before the Crossing' (2005) - she is afforded the gift of regarding her sixth album as a time capsule of sorts allowing wisdom, confidence and objective clarity to give the unfinished songs the life and maturity that they had needed.

In an ensemble further rounded out by double-bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Jongkuk Kim, the album's eight tracks showcase Lilly Hertzman at her finest - sublime pieces that are beautifully composed and elegantly performed.  From the introspective 'The Calling', the noir jazz of 'In the Sound of the Night' or the nostalgia-riddled 'Big Heart', 'Heartshaped' is fully realised and sensational effort that finds its own prolonged journey to completion profoundly worth the wait.