Benjamin Koppel: “Anna’s Dollhouse” (2022) CD Review

Saxophonist Benjamin Koppel’s new release, Anna’s Dollhouse, is an unusual and intriguing album.  Its nine original compositions together tell the story of Koppel’s aunt, who, in her early twenties, had to flee Nazi-occupied Denmark in the 1940s. Having survived World War II, she married the man her parents had chosen for her, a man she did not love, and stayed with him until he died sixty years later. It was at that point that her life became her own, and she began playing piano again. It was also then that Benjamin Koppel got to know her. When she died in 2019, he decided to tell her story through music, something that was a passion in her life. All the tracks on this release were co-written by vocalist Caecilie Norby. Koppel wrote the music, Norby the lyrics. Joining them on this album are Kenny Werner on piano, Peter Erskine on drums, Johannes Weidenmueller on bass, and Jacob Andersen on percussion, along with a string section arranged by Anders Koppel, Benjamin’s father.

The album opens with its title track, the saxophone immediately taking us to another time, another place, which I love. This is a song about youth, and looking to the past, and also about hopes for the future. It is pretty, but knowing something of the story, there is a certain sadness in it, for the love mentioned in the song was not to be. She did not follow her heart, but instead followed the desires of her parents. However, before we get to that point, there is a beautiful lead on piano that represents that more carefree and happy spirit. Then the lead on saxophone seems to recount the more serious moments when she went to live with the man her family chose, but these are still not moments of despair. Before the track’s end, the lyrics return to the beginning, leaving us in a more hopeful frame of mind. That’s followed by “Mes Quatre Hercules,” which takes us back to her childhood and is about four brothers. Its opening lines, about being “So safe and yet so free,” are striking, particularly as we think of the way innocence was destroyed by the Germans. We can’t help but wonder what happened to these men. That short piece leads straight into “Black Water,” which begins with some solo work on bass that pulls us in with its rather somber sound. This is a song of separation, from home, from other family members, during the war, a song of escape and worry. It is a powerful and moving track, featuring some beautiful work on saxophone and an excellent vocal performance. “How do you explain war to a child?/How do you define death to a child?/Do they know the meaning of that star?/Screaming yellow, speaks of who you are.” This is a completely captivating track from beginning to end.

“Dying” is a song that celebrates music, and especially music’s ability to free our minds. And it is about the music within Anna, the music that apparently her husband was unaware of, which makes the song both exciting and sad. “You’re a stranger to the nightingale in me,” Caecilie Norby sings. What a heartbreaking line. This track features some wonderful, uplifting work on piano, and then some passionate playing on saxophone. I love that lead on sax, and the drum work beneath it is exciting as well. “Dying” is followed by “Drip Drop.” This song is interesting, for it starts with a somber instrumental section, but then takes on a playful feel when Caecilie Norby sings its title line, the contrast coming as a surprise. There is a youthful, even childlike feel to that particular line. There is a more serious vibe as she contemplates the rain and our relationship with nature,. “A quiet raindrop falls upon my face/This soft embrace gives back the hope/That we do belong/Somewhere.” The instrumental section signals a change, and soon Anna is in Sweden, and the track takes on a different feel. Then “Sketches Of Life And Death” has a lively, cheerful vibe. Here we seem to view the world through musical terms, which can be associated with all of life, and what joy in discovering that. I love the way the saxophone interacts with her voice. Then after the word “death,” the feeling changes. The strings fade, and the bass takes the piece in a different, more serious direction. The sax lead that soon emerges is rather beautiful.

“The Neighbour” is an arresting piece. What would any of us do in that situation? We think we could never save ourselves by sacrificing others. “Take my cousin instead/Oh no no, it’s not me – it’s the children they said/No, not me – it’s the children they shot/It’s not me – see, the children are dead/It’s not me, it’s not me, it’s not me, it’s not me.” The second half features some excellent work on drums. Then, interestingly, “Sketches Of Life And Death” is revisited before the end of the track. That’s followed by “Ghost Of Europe,” a song about war in Europe. “Empty streets, running feet/They say it’s war in Europe/Cities falling to the ground/Turning into stones.” The album concludes with “Anna’s World,” which is about her strength, her vitality. She remained a person who looked forward. “You won’t see no self-pity/No, she will search for strength in her heart/Make this strong brand new start/She’ll help all the people flee from sadness, madness!/‘Cause in Anna’s world, she’s still this fearless woman/Still believe in fighting every day for justice.” And you might think it would end there. But, no, this track grows in power, in intensity, and then just before the end, it returns to lines from “Ghost Of Europe,” because the war was clearly so defining. This remarkable album concludes with these lines: “Slalom through the cracks of fire/Burning bricks and bones.”

CD Track List

1. Anna ‘s Dollhouse
2. Mes Quatre Hercules
3. Black Water
4. Dying
5. Drip Drop
6. Sketches Of Life And Death
7. The Neighbour
8. Ghost Of Europe
9. Anna’s World

Anna’s Dollhouse was released on June 7, 2022.