At once intimate and expansive, Violette presents a vivid and emotionally resonant collection of chamber works performed by the Violette Ensemble, a genre-crossing group of acclaimed soloists, improvisers, and classical performers—including members of the Minnesota Orchestra, international touring artists, and Grammy-nominated musicians. The album also features special guests John Raymond (trumpet/flugelhorn), and vocalists Aby Wolf and Eric Mayson, whose expressive contributions further enrich the ensemble’s textured sound. With this group as his vehicle, Olsen explores themes of twilight and transformation—rooted in his long-standing fascination with the romanticism of autumn, as seen in earlier works like “October Hues” and “Crepuscular Sketches,” and most fully realized here.
Formed in 2021 and inspired by Olsen’s McKnight Composer Fellowship awarded by the American Composers Forum, the Violette Ensemble brings to life a series of works that blur the boundaries between jazz, pop, classical, and art song. The album’s centerpiece, “Dusk, WSQ,” evokes an autumn evening in New York’s Washington Square, with a stunning performance from vocalist Aby Wolf, pianist Will Kjeer, and Olsen’s richly orchestrated writing. Wolf’s perceptive delivery and Kjeer’s precise touch anchor the piece in tender lyricism, while the strings, led by violinists Sarah Grimes and Ernest Bisong, violist Lydia Grimes, and cellist Sonia Mantell, usher in sweeping textures that elevate the composition’s emotional arc.
Though rooted in detailed and elegant writing, Violette also leaves space for improvisation. Trumpeter John Raymond delivers a radiant solo on “To Acquiesce,” while Olsen himself weaves melodic bass improvisations through the string ensemble on “Present Tense.” Elsewhere, the hybridic art songs “Split Rock Postcard,” “Aubade (Violet),” and the aforementioned “Dusk, WSQ” find Olsen merging his roles as composer, songwriter, and arranger with rare fluidity—his melodies welcoming yet nuanced, the borders between vocal and instrumental lines gently dissolved.
The album features contributions from a remarkable cast, including flutist Alicia McQuerrey, bass clarinetist Paul Schimming, drummer Ben Ehrlich, and vocalist Eric Mayson, who, along with Wolf and Olsen, also performs in the chamber-pop group Champagne Confetti. Mayson shines on “Bright Star,” a stark and powerful track performed by the ensemble’s piano trio.
While the vinyl edition presents a tightly curated five-track arc—including two instrumentals and three vocal-forward pieces—the digital release expands the narrative with additional material such as “Intermezzo (Bloom)” and the emotionally climactic “Bright Star.” In both forms, Violette achieves a rare integration of structure and spontaneity, composition and expression.
Violette marks a new creative high point in Olsen’s prolific career. Since receiving his McKnight Fellowship in 2020, he has composed more than 60 original works and released two albums of original music. His 2017 debut Joyfire was lauded by the Minneapolis Star Tribune as “sprawling yet cohesive,” while his 2020 EP It’s Easy to Pretend further showcased his evolving artistic voice. Olsen’s accolades also include recognition from the ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Awards and a finalist nod from the International Society of Bassists’ Jazz Bass Competition in 2019.
As a performer, Olsen has appeared with artists such as Michael Cain, Dayna Stephens, Javier Santiago, John Raymond, and Aby Wolf, on stages ranging from Twin Cities Jazz Festival and First Avenue to Rockwood Music Hall and Dirty Dog Jazz Café. His music is steeped in jazz tradition but never beholden to it—forward-looking, accessible, and filled with harmonic color, rhythmic vitality, and heartfelt clarity.
With Violette, Ted Olsen offers a deeply personal and genre-blurring statement—music that is as intellectually engaging as it is emotionally stirring. It’s a record of nuance, depth, and imagination that may stand as his compositional masterpiece.
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