Mothering Sunday, 2026, and I am Upstairs At Ronnie’s to hear Polish violinist Adam Baldych and Norwegian pianist Helge Lien. I am not alone; the date sold out; people were turned away at the door and I have a front row seat. At the end of the second set Ronnie’s is buzzing, the couple behind me (who turn out to be friends of Helge Lien and have travelled from Oslo for this gig) ask who I am writing for. I explain my blog and then ask them how on earth I put into words what I have just heard, felt, experienced. How do I portray the visceral? Oh well, here goes.
The first set opened with The Rainbow, European jazz in feel, cinematic in scope, captivating in sound. The second, unnamed number, continued in a similar vein with Adam Baldych playing in a classical musical style with folk undertones. The jazz element, with classical undertones, comes from the piano playing of Helge Lien and when combined with Baldych’s delivery conveys something quite special.
Poetry gave Baldych the opportunity to play the renaissance viola de gamba, pizzicato to begin with and then bowed, which produced a delightful warm, rich tone matched, as it was, by a relatively simple sounding piano accompaniment – a wonderful right hand melody over a left hand ostinato. What came next was, quite simply, something else. The final number of the first set began in a free jazz style; there was no discernible melody from either player. Baldych’s playing was angular, sometimes percussive – bouncing or glancing the bow across the strings – a constructed chaos. Lien’s playing was physical: hitting, stroking, plucking the strings of the piano. Out of this soundscape a melody emerged before arcing back to the resonance from which it come. This was an intense, energetic performance that electrified the room and was exciting to hear, feel and see: a performance that would only work in a live setting; the most exhilarating of numbers.
The second set opened with an improvised section before moving into Jadzia, a song written by Adam Baldych for his daughter. There was a drone like sound from the violin while Lien’s playing showed the importance of space; notes being allowed dissipate before the next one being struck. Baldych’s playing fills out as the melody develops. Lien uses the the entire keyboard as the intensity of the piece increases before falling back to allow Baldych to come to the fore – the movement between the players is exceptional.
The second number ebbed and flowed: at times energetically powerful at others melodic and lyrical. There was a vitality to this number, built through the use of a repeating phrase, that reverberated across the room; palpable to all who heard it. The third number was a beautifully rendered ballad with wonderful, flowing melodic lines. Baldych played the main theme with Lien working around him before coming together for the final section.
Letter For E is a reflection on being Polish by culture and place. Baldych led with the folk sound of his home country, Lien with euro-centric jazz tones. As the piece progressed the sound kept building, Baldych’s playing becoming more physical, bow strings becoming shredded. Lien using his hands inside the piano to manipulate the sound to give us a different tonal texture to absorb alongside the music being played. This was the final number of the second set but there was no way this audience was going to allow these two superb players leave the stage without an encore.
Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah was the chosen number and it was, to put it succinctly, a stunning rendition of a beautiful tune. This song can be heard on the Brothers album (ACT, 2017) with Adam Baldych playing with the Helge Lien Trio and it is good but also highlighted, for me, the difference between a live performance and a recording:
Jazz is not simply improvisation. It’s a conversation. Not polite turn-taking, but listening while you play, responding in real time, making space without disappearing. Jazz […] requires co-presence – real bodies in real rooms at the same time. It demands shared attention – everyone listening together, responding to the same moments, building collective energy.
Why Jazz Matters. Steven Mintz, Substack, 13 January, 2026
What I heard this evening was an exceptional musical conversation between two players who instinctively understand each other and know how to respond to what the other is “saying”. It was a real pleasure to be able to sit in on their conversation and share that experience with others in a live setting, an experience that will live long in my memory.
Musicians: Adam Baldych (violin & renaissance viola de gamba), Helge Lien (piano).
SimplyJazzTalk 