Results for "Iceland"

Olafur Arnalds: Music and Art are Most Important in Times like These

by Nenad Georgievski
November 28, 2020

Icelandic composer Olafur Arnalds has been described as a contemporary composer and synthesist, but that doesn't adequately reflect the alchemy of modern and traditional that he is able to blend on his new record, some kind of peace (Mercury KX, 2020). The album is steeped in reflective and introspective emotions, and themes that provide an underlying ...

Johann Johannsson and Yair Elazar Glotman: Last and First Men Documentary and Soundtrack

by Nenad Georgievski
August 23, 2020

Both ambient and classical music have the power to transcend the boundaries and take the listener to otherworldly places. By blending these two seemingly different genres throughout his illustrious, potent but brief career, the late composer Johann Jóhannsson often managed to evoke difficult and complicated to describe emotions in his music. This prolific and groundbreaking composer ...

Toggi Jonsson

Born: May 29, 1976

Þorgrímur “Toggi” Jónsson, bassplayer has been a major part of the Icelandic jazz seen for the last 20 years. Has played with with some of the best-known musicians in Iceland an also some of the many foreign musicians that have visited Iceland in recent years. 2016 Toggi released his own CD including 10 original compositions performed by his own band including some of the finest musicians in Iceland. His music is under influences from the Balkans, pop music as well as European jazz. Thoughtful and melodic compositions are at the forfront showcasing the strenghts of his quintet

Vikingur Olafsson: Music Can Take Us To A Better Place

by Nenad Georgievski
April 12, 2020

The Icelandic classical pianist Vikingur Olafsson has built an impressive international career. Sought after by top orchestras and major concert venues worldwide, his records are published by the renowned Deutsche Gramophone. Olafsson's playing impresses with its brilliance, projection and exactitude, eliciting an impressive range and diversity of colors from his piano. On the other hand, Olafsson ...

Hildur Gudnadottir: Telling Stories with Music

by Nenad Georgievski
October 15, 2019

Musician and composer Hildur Gudnadottir has spent the past decade creating some of the most unique and indelible music and film scores in modern memory. Much like her fellow Icelanders Jóhann Jóhannsson and Ólafur Arnalds, Gudnadóttir has been composing weighty and layered ambiances and soundscapes. Her solo work obliterates the line between contemporary classical music and ...

Reykjavik Jazz Festival 2018

by Luca Vitali
October 8, 2018

Reykjavik Jazz Festival Reykjavik, Iceland September 5-9, 2018 Iceland has produced, and continues to produce, many outstanding artists--some of them world-famous, such as Björk, Múm, Sigur Rós, Ólafur Arnalds, Gus Gus, Emiliana Torrini, Of Monsters and Men--which is quite remarkable if one thinks that the country has less than 350,000 inhabitants. 130,000 ...

Reykjavik Jazz Festival 2018

by Luca Vitali
October 2, 2018

Reykjavik Jazz Festival Reykjavik, Islanda 5-9.9.2018 L'Islanda ha prodotto, e produce, una grande quantità di artisti, alcuni dei quali molto conosciuti a livello internazionale come Björk, Múm, Sigur Ros, Ólafur Arnalds, Gus Gus, Emiliana Torrini, Of Monsters and Men... il che, a pensarci bene, ha dell'incredibile, se pensiamo che il ...

Sigmar Matthíasson

Born: April 24, 1987

Sigmar Matthiasson is a man of many names but the one most fitting is the Bass Viking. His sound is best described as a magnificent blend of hardcore groove and colorful melodies with influences ranging from Megadeth and Led Zeppelin to Jaco Pastorius and Ray Brown. Born in Reykjavik, Iceland, Sigmar started playing bass around the age of 16. He was first introduced to jazz when studying at the F.I.H. School of Music where he graduated from in 2012. Later on Sigmar furthered his jazz studies at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York, where he studied with Jeff Carney, Reggie Workman and Hal Galper among others

Ingi Bjarni Skúlason

Born: September 9, 1987

Ingi Bjarni Skúlason is an Icelandic pianist/composer of considerable distinction and finesse, creatively seeking to shun boundaries in style or genre. He builds collaborations that challenge and excite, including projects with friends and colleagues in the Scandinavian countries he has lived in. His works are informed by jazz tradition, Nordic folksong and electronica. His own folk music of sorts.

His first two albums – Skarkali (2015) and Fundur (2018) – invited listeners into spacial freedom and vibrant expression of a piano trio. Tenging (2019) expands horizons further with a sparkling quintet (trumpet, guitar, piano, bass and drums). Lessons (2021) is a solo piano album with piano music in an undefined style. In the quintet album Farfuglar (2023), his quintet’s collective impressions of flight and abandon positively connect us with a panoply of atmospheres from which to soar in our imaginations.

Marína Ósk

Born and raised in Keflavík, Iceland, Marína Ósk started playing music at an early age when her mother handed her a recorder at the age of 2 and a half. After years of studying classical flute, Marína found her passion for jazz and started focusing on singing. She was accepted into the Jazz vocal department at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and graduated from there in 2017 with a BA in Jazz Vocals. In 2021 she graduated from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm with a Master's degree in Jazz performance.

Her musical idols include Chet Baker, Paul Desmond, Billie Holiday, Blossom Dearie and Lester Young and her favorite musical flavours include melodic vocal jazz from the 50's and the 60's, West Coast Jazz and lyrical improvisers from that era.