Cecilie Strange | Beech | May 30, 2025

Internationally celebrated Danish saxophonist/ composer Cecilie Strange proudly returns with Beech, her fifth album as a leader, set for release on May 30th 2025 on April Records. Rooted in a profound connection to nature and memory, Beech is a contemplative suite of compositions inspired by places that have left an indelible mark on Strange’s life.

The album’s title references the beech tree, a powerful symbol of Danish identity and renewal. “When spring arrives in Denmark, you can eat the very first beech leaves. They are very fresh and remind us that the good days are truly here. For me, it was both a symbol of my identity and a tree nourished by both its roots and the light from above.” This theme of grounding and growth is woven throughout the album’s six tracks, each representing a significant place in her journey.

From the opening piece, A Fairy Tale of a Violin, which pays homage to her childhood in Odense and its rich artistic heritage, to Copenhagen – A Love Story, reflecting her deep bond with the city she now calls home, Strange’s writing crafts an intimate musical picture of identity and belonging. Her time in New York, where she studied with jazz greats such as Chris Cheek and Chris Potter, also plays a role in the narrative, as does her transformative experience in Iceland, depicted in On the Tip of Sólheimajökull, a tribute to the awe-inspiring landscapes that shaped her artistic vision.

The album closes with Skrova Fyr, inspired by a remote Norwegian island where Strange spent time in artistic solitude. This final piece embodies the album’s core theme—an immersion in place, both physically and emotionally. “I like to be aware of a place. To be part of a territory, in flesh and blood, rather than just observing it from afar,” Strange explains.

Beech sees Strange reunite with pianist Peter Rosendal, bassist Thommy Andersson, and drummer Jakob Høyer, musicians who have become integral to her sound since their first collaboration in 2019. The album also features vocalist Josefine Cronholm, whose ethereal voice mirrors Strange’s singer-like approach to the saxophone, further enhancing the ensemble’s interactive, atmospheric quality.

Known for her ability to tell stories through her music, Beech’s meditative compositions, rich timbral palette, and spacious improvisations invites listeners to slow down and explore the sound of six places that have shaped Strange into who she is today.

Line up

Track Listing

A Fairy Tale of a Violin
Written in Runes
Copenhagen – A Love Story
Walking on Grand Street
On the Tip of Sólheimajökull
Skrova Fyr

PR Quotes

MOJO Magazine (UK)
“Strange’s breathy tone and way with a folk melody makes for thoughtful, slow jazz that toys with space and silence”

Blue in Green (UK)
“Cecilie Strange has become incredibly skilful at creating profound and deeply personal relationships through her music”

Era Jazzu (PL)
“presents a rich palette of colors and spatial improvisations of six beautiful, musically beautiful locations”

Backseat Mafia (UK)
“Through expressing so sensitively those ties which we affect us all, Strange has made an album of rare subtle strength and quiet fortitude”

Esensja (PL)
“It’s a beautiful, nostalgic, and moving album that also tells the story of the artist’s life.”

Blue in Green (UK)
“yet another testament to Ross McHenry’s phenomenal and ever-evolving mastery that has garnered without doubt one of his most compelling projects to date.”

Off Topic (IT)
“Strange focuses on a minimalist aesthetic, where the unsaid seems more fascinating than the explicit, and jazz, as we generally know it, appears in the veiled filigree of a modern language, a veneer that hides an original fresco yet to be explored.”

Salt-peanuts (DK)
“Beautiful playing from the entire band, and with Strange almost enthroned in front.”

UK Vibe (UK)
“Gently moving, immersive, and beautifully minimal, “Beech” is evocative, delicate, thoughtful, and quietly powerful. A beautiful album.”

Nettavisen (NO)
“It provides peace of mind and thought and it inspires – that is especially good in the times we are experiencing now.”

Nordic Music Central (UK)
“Any of the six tracks would stand as a sample, there’s no filler here”

Valonkuvia (FI)
“Strange paints her pictures of meaningful places with gentle, melancholic strokes, strongly linking his music to the cool, serene heritage of Nordic jazz”

The Arts Desk (UK)
“Cecilie Strange will be filed under jazz, but she pushes genre into quiet new spaces”

SK Jazz (SK)
“Cecilia Strange’s new album fulfills this with subtle strength and quiet courage.”