The Greek pianist Vangelis Katsoulis, the German trumpeter Markus Stockhausen and the Norwegian bassist Arild Andersen have known each other since 1996, when they met at a concert in Athens. Across Mountains was formed during a time when travelling and concerts were impossible. The musicians decided to use their time and creativity for a joint online recording project and thus embarked on a free journey of discovery. Vangelis and Markus started as a duo, soon joined by Arild. Sound tracks were sent back and forth, ideas were thrown at each other like balls. In this way, six pieces were created between August 2020 and May 2021.

This music is a document of a special time, because under normal circumstances the music would never have come into being like this if they had had the opportunity to record live together. In fact, it might not have come about at all, as the musicians live far away from each other.

In the course of composing and recording, there were always communication and synchronisation problems, but the musicians took their time and gained valuable experience – and they had fun. It was precisely the unusual recording process that led to surprisingly idiosyncratic musical results. Thus, the title “Across Mountains” points on the one hand to the hurdles that had to be overcome in this creative process, but at the same time to the spatial distance that was bridged: from Athens to Erftstadt (near Cologne) to Oslo. The music travelled long distances in space and time, but it felt very close. This music is testimony to a long-lasting musical bond.

Line-Up:
Vangelis Katsoulis – piano and electronics
Markus Stockhausen – trumpet and flügelhorn
Arild Andersen – bass and loops

Tracklist:
BEYOND THE DARK (10:12) (Vangelis Katsoulis)
TO SEE (12:54) (Markus Stockhausen)
INVITATION TO THE UNKNOWN (05:36) (Vangelis Katsoulis)
THE REBEL (03:07) (Markus Stockhausen)
ARCO FLIGHT (10:21) (Arild Andersen)
ACROSS MOUNTAINS (13:40) (Markus Stockhausen)

press for the album “Across Mountains”
“a music that floats, expands, breathes on, lets the listener fly metaphorically over the mountains mentioned in the record title”. – NDR

“all the pieces on this album come across as elegant and sonorous, no matter who composed them. The perfect interplay or rather the successful mixture characterises them. Markus Stockhausen shows himself in top form here together with Vangelis Katsoulis and Arild Andersen” – NDR

“well rounded and coherent, the music has a common vision and a common face. Success.” – Jazzpodium

“unbelievable musicality, who can calmly, without showmanship, conjure up an atmosphere [sic] consisting of noble sound, variety of textures and richness of interesting details. (…) A beautiful piece of music.” – jazz-fun

“wonderfully atmospheric and sensual trio album” – nrwjazz

“Without big effects the instruments get involved with each other. Piano and trumpet cautiously feel their way forward, electronic sound collages connect the melodies to spherical songs.” – musicheadquarter.de