Hanna Paulsberg Concept & Elin Rosseland: Himmel Over Hav

Hanna Paulsberg was born in Rygge, Norway, in November 1987. When she was aged fifteen, she heard a CD playing saxophonist Stan Getz and decided she wanted to play sax herself. The following year she started the music course at Kirkeparken videregaende skole in Moss. She passed her Examen artium in 2009 which meant she could progress to the jazz program at Trondheim Musikkonsevatorium, from which she graduated in 2011, some nine years after hearing Getz.

After graduating, Paulsberg set about putting together a group to record six compositions she had composed; joining Paulsberg were Oscar Grönberg on piano, Trygve Waldemar Fiske on double bass and Hans Hulbaekmo on drums, who had played with Paulsberg in their student days. From January 12th to 14th 2012, the quartet recorded the album in Øra Studio. It was released by Ora Fonogram on October 8th 2012, entitled Waltz For Lilli and credited to Hanna Paulsberg Concept. The foursome that recorded the first album has since recorded four more and have remained together ever since, which means they have survived as a group longer than some rock acts could.

During this period, Paulsberg was not solely involved with Hanna Paulsberg Concept. Among other things, she was a member of the large Trondheim Jazz Orchestra which in November 2016 joined Chick Corea for some concerts in New York City. In complete contrast, she played saxophone and percussion and sang in the trio GURLS with Rohey Taalah and Elleen Andrea Wang as well as composing most of their songs. Their 2018 album Run, Boy, Run (Grappa) won the 2018 Norwegian Grammy in the jazz category.

Meanwhile, Hanna Paulsberg Concept -still the quartet -had released two more recordings, Song for Josia (Ora Fonogram, 2014) and Eastern Smiles (Odin, 2016) which reinforced the success of Waltz For Lilli. All the compositions had been written by Paulsberg herself. The way the foursome was playing jazz avoided the head-solos-reprise pattern which some listeners find tiresome. Instead, Hanna Paulsberg Concept sounded as if they listened to and understood their bandmates' playing and enjoyed it, a sentiment shared by listeners.

The next two albums brought more surprises than the previous two had, mainly because the foursome became a fivesome in each case. Firstly, Daughter Of The Sun (Odin, 2018) had one track that was not by Paulsberg and one by Trygve Waldermar Fiske instead. Secondly, the album was credited to Hanna Paulsberg Concept & Magnus Boo, the latter being a trumpeter who played alongside Paulsberg and complemented her sax very well. Even more dramatic was the fifth musician who joined the quartet on Himmel Over Hav. She was legendary Norwegian vocalist Elin Rosseland who Hanna Paulsberg had long dreamed of working with. Her connection to the vocalist goes back to childhood, when her father would share stories and concert tapes at home. Paulsberg explains, "In recent years, composing has become a much bigger part of my musical life. I wanted to challenge the band to explore more fully composed pieces." Yes, Paulsberg is now so successful that all her dreams seem likely to come true...