Julia Hülsmann was born in 1968 in Bonn, and began playing piano at the age of 11. She formed her first band at the age of 16. In 1991 she moved to Berlin, and played in the Bundesjugendjazzorchestra under the direction of Peter Herbolzheimer. Recordings under her name have included collaborations with Roger Cicero, Rebekka Bakken, and Anna Lauvergnac.

Bassist Marc Muellbauer (born in London in 1968) also leads his own nine-piece band, Kaleidoscope. He has played contemporary classical music with the ensemble United Berlin, and Argentinean tango in the quintet Yira Yira, as well as jazz with diverse formations. Muellbauer teaches double-bass at the Hanns Eisler Academy in Berlin.

Drummer Heinrich Köbberling (born in Bad Arolsen/Hessen in 1967) has worked with Aki Takase, Ernie Watts, Anat Fort, Richie Beirach and many others: he has played on around 50 jazz albums. A 1997 leader date, Pisces included Marc Johnson and Ben Monder as sidemen. Köbberling teaches drums at the FMB Conservatory in Leipzig.

On the second ECM disc from the popular Berlin-based Julia Hülsmann Trio, the leader’s themes stand out in stark relief, as if stamped or printed into the surrounding improvisation. “Imprint” offers highly communicative jazz in which melody, clearly-etched melody, is paramount. Hülsmann is a gifted jazz-composer and there are surprises amongst her pieces here, including a powerfully-swinging Thelonious Monk tribute entitled “Who’s Next”. Bassist Muellbauer and drummer Köbberling also contribute intriguing tunes of their own, and this year’s offbeat cover version is a lilting Austrian Schlager tune from the 1940s, “Kauf dir einen bunten Luftballon”. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.