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Raoul Bjorkenheim
Raoul Björkenheim and eCsTaSy at Sello Hall in Espoo
by Anthony Shaw
Raoul Björkenheim and eCsTaSy with Juhani Aaltonen Sello Hall Espoo, Finland March 25, 2022 When guitarist Raoul Björkenheim and the rest of the all-Finnish eCsTaSy took the stage at the local arts venue in Espoo, the audience were still streaming into the the hall after the intermission--such is the band's enthusiasm to get out there and play. With two years since their previous public performance, there may have been some nerves ...
read moreLinda Sikhakhane, Raoul Bjorkenheim & Satoko Fujii
by Maurice Hogue
Things get a little rockin' this time out with the powerful guitar of Raoul Bjorkenheim and a top Italian quartet digging into the music of John Coltrane. Then he's front and center in the J&F Band, a mostly Italian ensemble, led by legendary Allman Brothers Band drummer Jaimoe and bassist Joe Fonda (and Joe sings! Who knew?). South African tenor player Linda Sikhakhane had to do his senior recital at The New School so why not be as comfortable as ...
read moreRaoul Bjorkenheim, Billy Hart, Robert Glasper and More
by Len Davis
In the second part of this week's show we continue our perusal of new Progressive-Rock, Avant-Garde Jazz and R&B releases, including gems from Raoul Bjorkenheim's Italian project, Bill Hart Robert Glasper and more. Enjoy the show! Playlist Raoul Bjorkenheim “Saturn" from Saturn (Long Song) 00:00 Robert Glasper “Resting Warrior" from Collagically Speaking (Blue Note) 06:36 Djabe “Return to Somewhere" from Live in Edmonton (GR 1993) 29:44 Bob Lanzetti “B" from Whose Feet Are These That Are ...
read moreRaoul Bjorkenheim eCsTaSy: Doors of Perception
by Maurizio Comandini
Il chitarrista Raoul Bjorkenheim è nato a Los Angeles nel 1959 da genitori finlandesi e nel paese nordico ha ben localizzato le sue radici artistiche. La sua peculiare ricerca timbrica lo contraddistingue da molti anni sulla scena della musica jazz alternativa che basa la sua strutturazione sull'improvvisazione ben organizzata. Bjorkenheim è uno dei nomi di punta nell'ampio scenario della chitarra elettrica moderna che non nasconde una derivazione hendrixiana ben avvertibile sin dal primo ascolto. Con questo Doors ...
read moreRaoul Bjorkenheim eCsTaSy: Out of the Blue
by Mario Calvitti
Raoul Bjorkenheim è uno di quei chitarristi difficili da inquadrare, per via di uno stile strumentale composito che prende in egual misura da rock, jazz, e libera improvvisazione. Anche la sua musica, di conseguenza, si viene a trovare spesso alla confluenza di questi tre generi, e il suo ultimo quartetto eCsTaSy non fa eccezione, anche se forse l'aspetto jazzistico è qui più marcato che in altri suoi lavori. Il quartetto è al suo secondo album, pubblicato come ...
read moreRaoul Bjorkenheim and eCsTaSy: eCsTaSy
by Dave Wayne
For me, guitarist Raoul Bjorkenheim is one of those musicians whose albums are always the subject of eager anticipation. His playing is both emotionally cathartic and intellectually gratifying. His highly-charged, utterly distinctive and immediately recognizable sound has been at the center of a number of fascinating cooperative groups over the past few years, including Scorch Trio with Paal Nilssen-Love and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, the quartet Krakatau and ad hoc groupings with the likes of Hamid Drake, William Parker, Bill Laswell, ...
read moreRaoul Bjorkenheim / Bill Laswel / Morgen Agren: BLIXT
by Raul d'Gama Rose
Few musicians are more aware that music has no borders, and--more than anything else--that the word “genre" is anathema, than Bill Laswell. The bassist has been uncompromising in this regard throughout his career and was not about to be undone for this musical adventure. Consequently, on the brilliantly crafted BLIXT, Laswell has partnered with an old cohort, guitarist Raoul Björkenheim, and a slightly newer one, drummer Morgen Ågren. Together, they are involved in the creation of some of the finest ...
read moreRaoul Bjorkenheim, Bill Laswell and Morgan Agren - Blixt (2011)
Source:
Something Else!
Sounding something like neo-prog meets outjazz, the music of Raoul Bjorkenheim, Bill Laswell and Morgan Agren is just as interesting for what it does as what it doesn't do. For all of the joys of their ear-melting inferno “Black Whole," the opening cut on Blixt, this power trio is also more than capable of downshifting into brilliantly coiled moments like “Shifting Sands Closing Hour," with its mysterious far-east feel. They dash through the rumbling angular mysteries of “Moon Tune," but ...
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Raoul Bjorkenheim, Bill Laswell, Morgan Agren - Blixt (Cuneiform, 2011) ****a1/2
Source:
Free Jazz by Stef Gijssels
By Paul Acquaro I suppose that Blixt is best described as a rock power trio. Working with industrial strength rhythms, thickly distorted leads and dark enveloping bass, the trio moves through a series of tough minded improvisations bracketed by short heads. However, as tough and stormy as the tunes may get at times, the musicianship and sensibilities of all involved provide enough nuance and sophistication to keep even the heaviest moments buoyant. That being said, the album begins with a ...
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Bill Laswell, Raoul Bjorkenheim and Morgan Agren - Blixt (Cuneiform, 2011)
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Music and More by Tim Niland
Blixt, the jazz fusion/progressive rock trio of Bill Laswell on bass, Raoul Bjorkenheim on guitar and Morgan Agren is a powerful one filled with tricky lead statements and intricate improvisational sections. Laswell is famous as a legendary producer and musician on the “downtown" improvisational scene in New York city, while Bjorkenheim, late of Finland (an improvisational hotbed all its own filled with great composers and musicians) has had his profile rise with tenures in the fusionesque band Krakatau and The ...
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Saku Mantere
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Raoul Bjorkenheim
Instrument: Guitar
Born: February 11, 1956
