Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity: Great Intentions

Gard Nilssen was born in June 1983 in Skien, Norway, and raised in a musical family consisting of drummers. With a background of marching bands and big bands, it was no surprise that drums became his instruments of choice. He got his musical education on the jazz program at Trondheim Musikkonservatorium. Later on, he became a performer, composer, producer and bandleader and moved to Oslo, becoming one of the most sought-after and active drummers on the European scene.

On June 14th 2014 at Engfeldt & Forsgren Studio, Oslo, Nissen, double bassist Petter Eldh and saxophonist Andre Roligheten recorded the seven tracks that comprise the album Firehouse which was released on Clean Feed in May 2015 and received a flurry of positive praise from critics. All seven of the album's tracks were credited to members of the trio. Nilssen, Eldh and Roligheten became known as Gard Nilssen's Acoustic Unity, a name which has stuck ever since.

Live In Europe, the follow-up to Firehouse, was very different from it as it was a three-disc live album recorded at Ljubljana Jazz Festival on July 2nd, at North Sea Jazz Festival on July 8th and at Oslo Jazz Festival on August 18th, all in 2016. It was released on Clean Feed in November 2017. The biggest change compared to Firehouse was that Nissen, Eldh and Roligheten were joined by Fredrik Ljungkvist on tenor saxophone or clarinet in Ljubljana and Kristoffer Berre Alberts on alto, tenor and baritone saxophones in Oslo. Another live album, recorded at the Barbican Centre in London on May 21st 2018, only featured the trio of Nilssen, Eldh and Roligheten, but for some reason it was not released on Action Jazz until May 2025.

After two more first-rate studio-recorded albums, each featuring the core trio alone, To Whom Who Buys A Record (Odin, 2019) and Elastic Wave (ECM, 2022), thoughts turned to the 10th anniversary of Gard Nilssen's Acoustic Unity and how to celebrate it. For Great Intentions, which was recorded at Ocean Sound Studio, Giske, Norway, from 16th to 18th December 2004, Nilssen, Eldh and Roligheten were joined by guest saxophonists Signe Emmeluth and Kjetil Moster, as well as special guest Jonas Alaska on vocals and guitar. From start to finish, the musicians make great listening and lead one to hope that Gard Nilssen's Acoustic Unity will keep going indefinitely...