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Oscar Grönberg
Friends & Neighbors: Circles
by John Sharpe
Even some 60 years after its birth, the free jazz of the American New Thing remains a fertile source of inspiration in 2024. On its sixth album, Circles, Norwegian quintet Friends & Neighbors continues to find rich avenues to explore in its updated repurposing of the naked expressionism of the 1960's avant-garde. An unchanged line up comprises some of the most in-demand players on the European scene in saxophonist André Roligheten (Gard Nilssen's Acoustic Unity and Supersonic Orchestra), trumpeter Thomas ...
Continue ReadingFriends & Neighbors: Circles
by Mark Corroto
Let's talk about Bird. Bird, not as in the sobriquet given to Charlie Parker but the actions of a bird, such as a parrot. Many a musician mechanically repeats the music of their musical heroes. For example, after Parker, we hear Phil Woods and Sonny Stitt recycling bebop. The Miles Davis' quintet of the 1960s begat the so-called young lions of the 1980s and 90s repeating the discoveries of post-bop jazz. So, when a Scandinavian quintet chooses a band name ...
Continue ReadingFriends & Neighbors: The Earth Is #
by Mark Corroto
The importance of choosing a name for your jazz band is often underestimated. Take the quintet Friends & Family for instance. When it was formed in 2008, it wasn't dubbed the André Roligheten Quintet or the Oscar Grönberg Band. No. From its beginnings, the quintet shared composing duties among its members as well as dutiful deference to each musician's sound. Proof of this friendship among neighbors (all live in Norway) is a string of excellent releases. The Earth Is # ...
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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson
