Roots and Stems is Hayden Powell's second album together with pianist Eyolf Dale and bassist Jo Skaansar. It presents 10 tunes the band has been working on since their 2011 release “The Attic”, which featured several guest soloists and explored a wide range of ideas and expressions. Roots and Stems does the opposite - stripping away everything but the trio, giving each musician more space and responsibility. The aim has been to capture the creativity and interaction that characterizes live concerts and to take a «snapshot» of the band at that time. The outcome is a transparent, open sound with a large dynamic range and original arrangements. In spite of the lack of drums, the music is often percussive due to the musicians' strong sense of rhythm and use of extended instrumental techniques.
The album was recorded, mixed and mastered at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, by Jan Erik Kongshaug and Peer Espen Ursfjord in front of an in-studio audience. It features artwork by Jens Jørgen Carelius Krogsveen and compositions by Hayden Powell, except “Quiet Exit” by Eyolf Dale.
"Throughout Roots and Stems, there's the sense that this is an album that couldn't have been made anywhere but Norway, and yet bears redolence of at least some aspects of an American tradition long gone global. With little muss or fuss, Powell and his band mates have fashioned an album whose touchstones may be broad, but whose underlying adherence to traditional precepts make Roots and Stems an album with undeniably broad appeal." (John Kelman, All About Jazz)