JazzWorldQuest Music Mix: Freedom Tree (Norway/Brazil/Mozambique)-Modern Acoustic World Jazz Rock(2021)

FREEDOM TREE is a multicultural jazz group that have achieved international popularity among music fans for their eclectic performances, drawing from three continents.

Close friends and colleagues, internationally acclaimed musicians each in their own right; acoustic guitarist Steinar Aadnekvam – from Bergen, Norway, bassist Rubem Farias from Salvador Da Bahia, Brasil and drummer/singer Deodato Siquir from Maputo, Mozambique make their base in Stockholm, Sweden and since 2015 they form this band.

Moving from clarity to clarity ever since, they released their joint debut album “Freedoms Trio” in 2016 and followed up in 2018 with the sophomore release “Freedoms Trio II” – both on Losen Records, Oslo.

Together, the band has performed several hundreds of concerts in some 17 countries across Europe, Eurasia, Africa and the United States until 2020 brought all touring to a halt.

Formerly known as ”Freedom’s Trio” the band has undergone a slight name change in 2021, embracing the name FREEDOM TREE – a significant name with deep connotations – and with their new album they continue characteristically in the vain of an eclectic afro jazz rock expression firmly rooted in both past & present.

Aptly titled ”MODERN ACOUSTIC WORLD JAZZ ROCK” the new album was recorded live in studio during the pandemic and the performance was originally live streamed to a group of fans.

Only afterwards did the band realize that the music that had been captured was of such a high quality in both performance and recording that it deserved to be released as a proper album.

The record features a set of familiar tunes from the bands original repertoire in what is arguably their best recording to date. What we hear is a band that has lived together on tour for a number of years, honing their interplay through hundreds of concerts, perfecting their compositions and collective musical presence to a such degree that there is not a split second of temporary loss of focus to be found anywhere in the recorded music…

All tracks on this release were also captured as film during the ’live in studio’ recording session and will be released online across streaming services with video capabilities simultaneously with the audio album on September 24.

”Their music is both complex and joyful, full of passion and energy. (…) They have a natural synergy which can be rare, especially when the musicians are so accomplished individually. People should hear FREEDOM TREE. Gives you hope!” – Robben Ford, 2019

Website YouTube Instagram

World Music Mix

NORWAY: TERJE RYPDAL-CONSPIRACY (ECM 2020)

 

A new ECM studio album and a programme of new music from Terje Rypdal is cause for celebration. On Conspiracy the great Norwegian guitarist seems to reconnect with the wild inspiration that fuelled such early masterpieces as Whenever I Seem To Be Far Away, Odyssey and Waves, exploring the sonic potential of the electric guitar with both a rock improviser’s love of raw energy and a composer’s feeling for space and texture. Keyboardist Ståle Storløkken, who contributed to Terje’s Vossabrygg and Crime Scene albums is an ideal co-conspirator, perpetually thickening the plot with his own intuitive feeling for complementary sound-colours. Conspiracy also marks a welcome return for Pål Thowsen, whose subtle, detailed drumming was last heard on ECM with Arild Andersen’s 1970s groups. Rypdal’s best band in years is completed by gifted young bass guitarist Endre Hareide Hallre. Conspiracy was recorded at Oslo’s Rainbow Studio and produced by Manfred Eicher and Terje Rypdal(ECM)

NORWAY: Hedvig Mollestad-Ekhidna(2020)

In May 2018 Hedvig received an invitation from Vossajazz - the much loved annual festival established in 1973 - to write the commission work for 2019. This came at the right time, she had been thinking about writing for a bigger group than the trio, and this would be a good opportunity. To make it suitable for album release the full festival version was edited, sharpened and recorded from scratch in Amper Tone studio in Oslo. And this stunning album is the result! In addition to Hedvig on guitar, the line-up includes powerhouse drummer Torstein Lofthus (Elephant9) and percussionist Ole Mofjell, the youngest member, but with solid experience from the European improvisation scene. Keyboard duties are handled by Marte Eberson, probably most known from her five years with Highasakite, and Erlend Slettevoll (The Core and supergroup Grand General, Rune Grammofon 2013). 

Hedvig first met trumpeter Susana Santos Silva in Mats Gustafsson´s NU-ensemble. This three women, three men lineup defies the general notion of progressive jazz as being a typically male activity. Maybe this is why it´s so multifaceted, rich on textures and melodically strong? Being the riffmeister Hedvig truly is, she has of course found room for some really strong ones, as well as some subtle and powerful soloing. Just listen to Antilone!

rune grammofon

GERMANY/NORWAY: Don’t miss it: Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen with her fantastic Orchestra live from Oslo

Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen mit ihrem fantastischen Orchester präsentieren „Red Lips, Knuckles and Bones“ und mehr: wie Songs über Schuhe und andere wichtige Themen, die die Welt heute braucht … Live in einem brillanten „Corona-Konzert“ aus Sentralen, Oslo. Verpassen Sie es nicht: online bis Freitag, den 1. Mai! Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen with her fantastic Orchestra are presenting “Red Lips, Knuckles and Bones” and more: like songs about shoes and other important topics the world needs today … Live in a brilliant “Corona Concert” from Sentralen, Oslo.Don’t miss it: online until Friday May 1!Buy CD  |  Buy Vinyl  |  Listen on Spotify

Rain Sultanov – Influence

The medicine the world needs today is delivered by Rain Sultanov: The name is INFLUENCE. Vinyl-Fan.de Review: Bei dieser Schallplatte von Rain Sultanov, dem großartigen Saxofonisten aus Aserbaidschan, kann man erleben, wie Musiker in eine andere Welt abdriften. Fern der Wirklichkeit, dem hier und jetzt, entstanden Melodien von betörender Schönheit. Und sie zeigen uns, welche Einflüsse dabei eine Rolle spielten – die LP „Influence“ in der Review. Rain Sultanov – Influence (LP, 180g Vinyl) Begriffe wie gefühlvoll, voller Hingabe und emotional wirken in Rezensionen oftmals abgedroschen oder abgenutzt. Mit der Schallplatte „Influence“ bekommen sie allerdings nicht nur eine gerechte Bedeutung, sondern kulminieren zu einem sinnlichen Erlebnis, welches auch den exzellenten Klang einschließt. Rain Sultanov und seine Mitspieler haben ein Werk geschaffen, das für sich betrachtet einzigartig ist: die innere Verbindung zu den Musikern, die für diese sechs Stücke als Inspiration dienten. Buy CD  |  Buy Vinyl  |  Listen on Spotify

Bleiben Sie gesund und haben Sie eine schöne Woche! Stay healthy and have a nice week!  Dagobert Böhm and the Ozella Team

OZELLA MUSIC | OUR SENSE OF SOUND Dagobert Böhm | Geschäftsführer A: Schloss Hamborn 20 | 33178 Borchen | Germany T: +49 (0) 5251 38-509 | mail@ozellamusic.com | www.ozellamusic.com | www.facebook.com/ozellamusic

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NORWAY: Daniel Herskedal-Call For Winter (2020)

 DANIEL HERSKEDAL tuba and bass trumpet Call For Winter is an album with a sonorous beauty and majestic flow. The album builds on the territory mapped in Mistral Noir, the opening track of Herskedal’s first album, Slow Eastbound Train, erecting layers of solo tuba and bass trumpet into an imposing edifice of sound. Call For Winter was performed by Herskedal during two weeks alone in deepest Norway; a cinematic journey through 12 original compositions manifesting that crystalline landscape and fusing the spirit of jazz with the compositional craft of classical music Rarely do you hear a musician with such depth, emotive intensity and virtuosity shine whilst simultaneously pushing the boundaries of his instrument to the limit

NORWAY : Marius Neset | London Sinfonietta - Viaduct(act 2020)

The 34-year-old Bergen-born tenor/soprano saxophonist-composer Marius Neset presents his new recording Viaduct and makes his boldest, most restlessly diverse statement to date. On his fifth album for leading European label ACT, Neset organically integrates a wide-ranging, colourful kaleidoscope of influences with his compelling compositions/arrangements for a pair of extended suites. Originally commissioned for the opening concert of the Kongsberg Jazz Festival in 2018, Viaduct offered Neset a fantastic opportunity to reunite his regular top-notch Brit-Scandi jazz quintet with world-class 19-piece London Sinfonietta, having initially performed together for his 2016 ACT release Snowmelt.
Challenge Records

NORWAY/POLAND/GERMANY: Maciej Obara Quartet - Three Crowns(ECM 2019)

Maciej Obara Quartet - Three Crowns The album is available here: https://ecm.lnk.to/ThreeCrownsID Maciej Obara: alto saxophone Dominik Wania: piano Ole Morten Vågan: double bass Gard Nilssen: drums ECM 2662 Release: October 25, 2019 The half-Polish, half-Norwegian quartet led by fiery alto saxophonist Maciej Obara is gaining ground as one of the most exciting groups on the contemporary jazz scene. Both the band and its ECM debut Unloved were awarded the Fryderyk Prize in Poland in 2018, and early in 2019 the Obara Quartet also took first place at the BMW Jazz Awards in Munich. Now comes the quartet’s second ECM album Three Crowns (named for the Trzy Korony mountains in Southern Poland). Its programme is comprised of six new pieces by Maciej and two free arrangements of compositions by Henryk Górecki (1933-2010). The Obara Quartet launches the album with a major concert at the NOSPR Concert Hall in Górecki’s hometown Katowice, and follows up with a tour with dates in Poland, France, Austria and Germany. Website: https://www.ecmrecords.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecmrecords Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecm_records Twitter: https://twitter.com/ecmrecords

NORWAY: Emmeluth’s Amoeba – Chimaera (Øra Fonogram 2019)

 POLYP IS EMMELUTHS AMOEBA'S SECOND ALBUM. RELEASE: NOVEMBER 15 2019.

 Following on from "Polyp", Emmeluth's Amoeba takes their unique cracked looking-glass approach to improvisation to new heights and deeper depths. Highly angular compositions that send branches through four dimensions act as a scaffolding for their layered counterpoints and intermittent bursts of unison and harmonic playing. Tonal instruments create rhythmical figures that knit the pieces together, while the percussion engages in free discourse. Prolonged sax shrieks, anti-guitar techniques, polyrhythmic drumming, muted piano or occasional squabbling synthlines accrue alongside other extending playing techniques in an endless search and discovery of new sounds to juxtapose with those more readily associated with "jazz". Yet even those typically "jazz" sounds are repurposed, given new roles more at home in avant garde chamber orchestras.
Øra Fonogram 

NORWAY: Ketil Bjornstad – Rainbow Sessions – New Edition (Grappa 2019)

All music by Ketil Bjørnstad, except "In The Bleak Midwinter" by Harold Edwind Darke, "Spring Breeze" by Deng Yu-Hsian, "The Source" by Halfdan Kjerulf, "Intermezzo Op. 118, No. 2" by Johannes Brahms and "Miserere" by Gregorio Allegri.

Ketil Bjørnstad celebrates 50 years as a musician and artist in 2019

Bjørnstad’s 50th anniversary as an artist kicks off with a reissue of “Rainbow Sessions”, earlier released as a limited edition in 2006. This is Ketil Bjørnstad’s homage to the world known Rainbow Studios and the Steinway grand piano. When studio owner and sound guru Jan Erik Kongshaug in 2004 was moving the studio to a new location, the idea to make the last to record in the old studio and the first to play in the new, was born. Two solo piano albums were planned, at the time it turned into three, and for this release evolves into four. This celebratory edition consists of five different Rainbow sessions recorded in the period 2013-2017, which Bjørnstad has put together into a fourth bonus CD. Everything is presented in a new, wonderful design, accompanied by newly written liner notes by Bjørnstad.

Grappa

NORWAY: Thomas Dahl & Court – Quilter (Losen Records 2019)

Thomas T Dahl – Guitar
Harmen Fraanje – Piano
Magne Thormodsæter – Bass
Håkon Mjåset Johansen – Drums
https://thomastdahl.com

Tracklist:
01. Hermit (5:30)
02. A Wall (7:37)
03. Ballestre (7:37)
04. So and So (3:58)
05. Dice (5:15)
06. Rad 3310 (8:33)
07. Quilter (8:52)
08. Procession (5:07)

NORWAY: harlequins enigma re-releases "air palette" jazz album

Air palette has been re-released & comes with a bonus track with new cd cover
Harlequins enigma was unfortunate With their horus release of this one, & encountered a fraud gfx artist at fiverr.com - fiverr refunded  them some cash & here they are With a re-release, new cd cover & a bonus track.
the album is a little different sounding & should be great now. 
2019 air palette is hereby "catmint's" little sister. catmint was Harlequins enigma's first jazz release & was out some years back via zimbalam. the material is much crossover jazz & moods but do have the occasional regular old School jazz track as well. hope the world will enjoy our 2 releases.
the tracks onboard air palette is a good mix of electronic jazz which fall also into funk & classical subgenres, the moods are delicate & special. åge has much interest in catmint & air palette. if you have interest in jazz you can do worse then checking out these two albums. harlequins enigma & jazz is a little different at times, but many attempts remains as usual jazz pieces. they do stretch some of the tracks in new directions & they hope you will like their sound.

available on google play, deezer, tidal & itunes, Spotify & amazon. 7 digital will follow - happy hours to all! you may follow harlequins enigma on spotify facebook & twitter if you like them.

NORWAY: Cecilie Grundt Quintet – Contemporary Old School (2019)

 Cecilie Grundt - saxophone Øyvind Mathisen - trumpet Håvard Aufles - piano Morten Stai - bass Åsmund Smidt - drums Cecilie formed her first band as a leader,


Cecilie Grundt Quintet, in 2016 which features Øyvind Mathisen on trumpet, Håvard Aufles on piano, Morten Stai on bass and Åsmund Smidt on drums. The band is characterized by communicative interplay through playfulness and curiosity, expressing a contemporary jazz language influenced by the jazz tradition and beyond. The musicians are always given great freedom to flavour the music in their own way. Cecilie Grundt Quintet is still developing, exploring new melodies and structures, and playing with different time signatures.

NORWAY: Erlend Apneseth Trio – Salika, Molika (HUBRO 2019)

International release May 2019 Folk past meets folk future in the Erlend Apneseth Trio’s new album of music, sound and spoken word, featuring accordionist Frode Haltli The third album by the trio of Erlend Apneseth - Norway’s new star of the Hardanger fiddle - builds on the foundations set by their acclaimed debut recording, ‘Det Andre Rommet’ (which was nominated for a Norwegian ‘Grammy’) and its equally praised follow-up, ‘Åra’, to create a thrillingly contemporary-sounding amalgam of old and new, mixed and co-produced once again by Jorgen Træen (Jaga Jazzist, Røyksopp, etc).

Commissioned by Bergen Kjøtt, a former meat packing factory now converted to artist’s studios and performance space, and partly recorded there, ‘Salika, Molika’ combines elements from traditional folk music with experimental improvisation and electronics to produce a fascinating hybrid form where inspired acoustic picking on fiddle and baritone guitar or zither plus percussion is matched by live sampling and processing to create intricately patterned tesselations of sound. The addition of the celebrated accordionist and composer Frode Haltli - on whose masterly Hubro album of 2018, ‘Avant Folk’, Erlend Apneseth played - deepens the mix to produce a denser yet more nuanced ensemble-sound, while the incorporation of spoken word and ambient recordings - following a model first established in ‘Åra' - provides a further discursive layer to the musical text. Rather than over-egging an already rich pudding with too many ingredients, the resulting palimpsest of music, sound and spoken word comes across as entirely natural-sounding, while much of ’Salika, Molika’ positively rocks, with compulsive, middle-eastern influenced grooves riffing on minimalist ear-worm melodies and trip-hop beats.

Elsewhere, eerie glissando drones, plucked strings and the accordion's wheezy sighs meet the repetitive pulse of what sounds like percussive raindrops. This is deeply rooted music, at times so ancient-sounding that it feels like it was dug up out of the ground. At other times, the effect suggests a heroically modernist, mid-twentieth century take on medieval sources, rather as if Penderecki or Ligeti were re-scoring Bergman’s ’The Seventh Seal’. ’Salika, Molika' is also very consciously structured as a kind of sonic journey, the music first emerging from - and then eventually returning to - whispers of pure sound, while in between various modes and influences are picked up and tried out. Throughout, the band - which with the addition of Haltli becomes a four-way supergroup - plays superbly. Guitarist Stephan Meidell is already a star of the Hubro catalogue with his solo album, ‘Metrics’, and as a third of the group Cakewalk; percussionist/drummer Øyvind Hegg-Lunde - who plays with Meidell in the duo Strings & Tympani - is also a member of the influential band Building Instrument.

 “The project started with a commission from Bergen Kjøtt to make a concert with new music in a really big room in the old meat factory”, says Erlend Apneseth. “The idea was basically to write music, meet there for a week of rehearsals before the concert, and see how the music would develop in the room. Bringing in Frode was just that we saw this as an opportunity to work with him, all three of us being fans of what he has been doing for several years as a really top class contemporary musician.”

NORWAY: Mosambique-Big City Moves (2019)

The Brand new album from Mosambique, high octane jazzfunk for the feet and the brain. Loaded with enough energy to power a city indefinitely, and enough chops, chills, thrills and spills to send you spinning through their melodic universe, Mosambique grab their grooves and run with them. With influences from urban jazz,

Afrobeat, EDM, Hip Hop and Funk, this full-throttle release captures the essence of the cultural melting pot of Oslo (and capital cities throughout the world, for that matter). Their cosmic gumbo has delicious beats to move your feets, and a fistful of earworms to riddle your brain. The album hurtles through space and time, gathering momentum and capturing vibes from past and future alike. With "Big City Moves",

 Mosambique are bringing a new music that is utterly unstoppable, and anyone who hears it will be scooped up and brought along for the ride of their lives! credits released March 15, 2019

NORWAY: Eyolf Dale & André Roligheten – Departure (2019)

Eyolf Dale - piano
André Roligheten - saxophone and clarinet

Produced by Eyolf Dale and André Roligheten
Executive producer: Dave Stapleton

1 First Clue 6.38
2 Just Woke Up 3.45
3 Take Me Home 4.17
4 Reflection 5.01
5 Accelerate Wormhole 3.10
6 Celestial Bodies 5.09
7 Moon Jogger 4.38
8 Crystalline 5.31


Departure is the new album from long standing Norwegian duo of pianist Eyolf Dale and reedsman André Roligheten. An album of deep expression, poise and honest collaboration. An album that describes a meeting between two old friends; an intimate dialogue between two critically acclaimed jazz musicians with impressive careers of their own; but also a departure: an album that carves a new path for the duo formerly known as Albatrosh. Departure is alive with elegance that takes you on a journey of deep expression.

credits

released May 10, 2019 

NORWAY: FREEDOMS TRIO Updates

Spring in Scandinavia is finally here, and we want to share some new content with you from FREEDOMS TRIO. The world jazz rock group featuring guitarist Steinar Aadnekvam from Norway, bassist Rubem Farias from Brazil and drummer Deodato Siquir from Mozambique maintains a busy touring calendar and concerts around the world are sceduled for the times ahead.. (meanwhile 'Freedoms Trio' is continously available for further bookings & enquiries) This HD video is from a concert last week in beautiful western Norway. Please have a look, as we think you're going to enjoy it.

FREEDOMS TRIO - PHLYDE live @ Stord Jazzclub (HD video) Upcoming shows 2019:  May 10 2019 - Freedoms Trio @ Buddahs Jazzclub, Klaverfabrikken, Denmark / May 17, 18 2019 - Lissabon, Portugal / May 24 - June 02 2019 - Concerts & Workshops, Maputo - Mozambique / June 12 - Freedoms Trio @ Rosetum Jazz Festival, Milano - Italiy / July 3, 4 2019 - Freedoms Trio @ Rigas Ritmi Festival, Riga - Latvia / July 6 2019 - Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Denmark / July 26-27 2019 - Jazz Night, Mendrisio, Switzerland / Oct 10 - 14 2019 - Freedoms Trio, Shanghai, China / Oct 18-19 2019 - Freedoms Trio @ Baku Jazz Festival, Azerbaijan / Oct 23-27 2019 - Womex, Tampere Finland / Nov 1 - 10 2019 Freedoms Trio - TBA - Tour in Italy / Nov 21 2019 - Freedoms Trio @ Vänersborg Musikförening, Sweden / Nov 23 2019 - Freedoms Trio @ Jazzclub Burgthann, Germany For more info go to: www.freedomstrio.com Copyright © 2019 Music Makes You Happy / MMYH Records, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: info@musicmakesyouhappy.com / steinarguitarlive@gmail.com

NORWAY/UK/SWEDEN: HAFTOR MEDBØE / JACOB KARLZON (2019)

HAFTOR MEDBØE / JACOB KARLZON – ALBUM RELEASE IN APRIL 2019

 Norwegian/Scottish guitarist Haftor Medbøe and Swedish pianist Jacob Karlzon join creative forces in the recording of a set of original compositions. The album is released on limited edition, hand-numbered 10” vinyl on 05/APRIL/19 and available for purchase with bundled digital download including a bonus track exclusively from http://copperfly.co.uk

 Since first meeting at the Islay Jazz Festival in the Scottish Hebrides 15 years ago, Haftor and Jacob have been slowly hatching a plan to collaborate. At long last they come together on this recording, first premiered live as part of Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival 2018, that draws on their shared roots and personal influences.

 The work evokes a Nordic sensibility with echoes of the Scandinavian jazz tradition as embodied by pianists Jan Johansson, Esbjorn Svensson and Tord Gustavsen. Inspired in part by traces of the region’s folk musics, the album simultaneously meditates on more universal aspects of the here and the now. The project will be toured in the UK and Scandinavia during 2019/20.

 BIOGRAPHIES:

 Haftor Medbøe has released albums with his eponymous group on Linn Records, and Fabrikant Records, and with Norwegian compatriots Espen Eriksen (pn.) and Gunnar Halle (tpt.) on Losen records. Born in Norway, Haftor has for many years been resident in Scotland where he is Jazz Musician in Residence and Associate Professor of Music at the capital city’s Edinburgh Napier University
 http://www.haftormedboe.com

 Jacob Karlzon is an award winning Swedish pianist who is celebrated for his work with artists including Silje Nergaard, Nils Landgren, and Viktoria Tolstoy. He has shared the stage with a host of jazz luminaries including Billy Cobham, Kenny Wheeler and Norma Winstone, and has recorded for Caprice Records, Stunt Records, ACT and Warner Music. In 2012 Jacob gained the coveted status of Steinway Artist.
 https://www.jacobkarlzon.com

 Press contact: Haftor Medbøe | haftormedboe@gmail.com | +44 7771778867

NORWAY: Helge Lien Trio-10 (2019) @HelgeLien @JazzSceneOslo #jazz

The sessions to the new Helge Lien Trio album were not supposed to be special. And yet, they could never be business as usual. After the departure of founding member Frode Berg, the group were ''at a crossroads,'' says Lien, and in need of a fresh start. They found it by leaving their comfort zone: For the first time in 15 years, they did not record at the Rainbow studio in Oslo. The change of location turned out to be productive. In the end, the musicians had two full records' worth of material - and none of it fit the glove of a conventional trio recording.

The sessions to the new Helge Lien Trio album were not supposed to be special. And yet, they could never be business as usual. After the departure of founding member Frode Berg, the group were ''at a crossroads,'' says Lien, and in need of a fresh start. They found it by leaving their comfort zone: For the first time in 15 years, they did not record at the Rainbow studio in Oslo. The change of location turned out to be productive. In the end, the musicians had two full records' worth of material - and none of it fit the glove of a conventional trio recording.

Rather, the soberly titled 10 feels like factories of ideas, little worlds for letting go and losing yourself in, like a clockwork ticking at the pulse of passion. They present a panopticum of this unique formation's versatility, including onomatopoetic piano paintings and hypnotic grooves, experimental abstractions and runic jazz. Lien is known for being capable of everything - this time, he just did everything all at once.

It was obviously critical how new bassist Mats Eilert would fit in. All doubts, however, are quickly dispersed on opener ''Be Patient''. Appearing behind Lien's crystalline piano cascades, Eilert turns his instrument into a poetic device, imbuing the music with a sense of magic and mystery. The other members, too, are awarded their spot in the limelight. In the solo pieces, their individual voices sound more recognizable than ever, while forging an even tighter unit in the band settings.. Some have referred to the trio's style as ''new chamber music'' - it is not hard to understand, why.

Lien himself especially has grown as a composer and performer. Some of the most striking passages are reminiscent of his ambitious solo record Kattenslager from 2012. On other occasions, he pushes the beat forward with impulsive staccatos, at times separating himself from the rhythm section, at times closely aligning himself with it

NORWAY: Daniel Herskedal- Voyage (2019)

Norwegian composer and Tuba Player defies all conventions and preconceptions what is possible as a soloist on the tuba. He is adept with a masters voice in creating vast palettes of colours and exquisite tone in his music.


Daniel Herskedal is a musician and composer of extraordinary ability who is pushing the boundaries of his instrument to the limit. ‘Voyage’ emerges as Daniel’s definitive statement so far, merging awe-inspiring beauty with a refreshingly original sound. The music is supremely melodic, tinged with rhythmical flare and vibrant colours. 

 DANIEL HERSKEDAL tuba and bass trumpet BERGMUND WAAL SKASLIEN viola EYOLF DALE piano HELGE ANDREAS NORBAKKEN percussion Featuring MAHER MAHMOUD oud Produced by Daniel Herskedal Executive producer Dave 

shows

• Mar 21
  Kings Place
  London, UK
• Mar 22
  Turner Sims Concert Hall, University of Southampton
  Southampton, UK
• Mar 23
  Sage Gateshead
  Gateshead, UK
• Apr 09
  Theaterstübchen
  Kassel, Germany
• Apr 10
  A-Trane
  Berlin, Germany
• Apr 11
  Schwarzkaue Schlägel & Eisen
  Herten, Germany
• May 03
  1019 Jazzclub
  Vienna, Austria
• May 04
  Treibhaus
  Innsbruck, Austria
• Oct 31
  Münsterland Festival
  Borken, Germany
• Nov 01
  Halle 424
  Hamburg, Germany

NORWAY/SWEDEN: RYMDEN-Reflections and Odysseys(2019)

While Bugge Wesseltoft is a musician with a keen appreciation of music wherever it comes from, and the unity among people that music can bring, he also appreciates music as an expression of an identity. His championing of the cause of "European Jazz as its own art form" sees him return to the piano trio format with the Swedish rhythm section consisting of Magnus Öström and Dan Berglund. The groups New Conception of Jazz and e.s.t. (esbjorn svensson trio) moved in different orbits around the same musical planet, and produced some of the best recorded music and performances that spanned the 90s into the new millennium.

The influence of both groups was profound and can still be seen and heard today in the emerging young talents from Scandinavia and beyond, many of whom have found encouragement and a home on Wesseltoft's Jazzland Recordings label. e.s.t. remain regarded as one of the best live acts of the era, and they hold their position as the most successful artist on the Munich-based ACT record label. Both groups were explorers, experimenters testing the limits of existing forms or trying to discover new ones.

 That a crossover between these two powerhouses of 21st century European jazz should occur is not surprising, although perhaps long overdue. With the formation of RYMDEN (meaning "space" – as in "outer space" or "universe"), we are presented with a music that is innately Scandinavian in mood and attitude. This is not the "Scandinavian sound" one might picture: this is not music for meditating over a view of frozen mountains or tranquil fjords (although the listener is free to do so!): This is music that reflects all aspects of the Scandinavian milieu of the 21st century. This is music filled with rugged dynamism, extended playing techniques, brooding or melancholic atmospheres. It offers cinematic and epic sounds, cascading drama, crashing and splashing, tension and release. It delivers melodic, high-octane unison riffs,

Minimalism immersed in rich improvised tapestries, vocal doubling of melodies, and moments of growling menace. It does this with minimal electronic trickery, with Wesseltoft moving between piano and Rhodes, and Berglund and Öström coaxing just about every possible sound from their instruments.