Play! / Henning Ullen

PLAY! is Henning Ullén's second album under his own name. Together with Mauritz Agnas on double bass and Nils Agnas on drums, the trio offers music with a melancholic undertone, yet infused with a joy of playing. The title of the album, also the title of the second track urges us to play, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and improvisation in its simplest form. On the other hand, the music is rich, oscillating between well-composed, sometimes complex passages and freer sections that leave room for improvisation. The album is infused with a driving high-energy vibe. At times, the boundaries blur between what is composed and what is improvised. In addition to the trio format, the album also includes some shorter solo improvisations where Ullén for the first time on record presents his solo-playing. Henning Ullén is an award-winning pianist and composer primarily active in jazz and improvisational music. He studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Berklee College of Music, and the conservatory in Paris (CNSDMP). Henning Ullén was one of Sweden's most promising and acclaimed young jazz trumpeters when he had to end his trumpet career in 2019 due to a rare disease that caused dizziness and headaches in connection with playing the trumpet. He then quickly transitioned to the piano and released his first album, Debut, in 2021.