Home » Jazz Articles » Frode Gjerstad
Jazz Articles about Frode Gjerstad
About Frode Gjerstad
Instrument: Saxophone, alto
Related Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar ToFrode Gjerstad with Matthew Shipp: We Speak
by John Sharpe
While the combination of reedman Frode Gjerstad--the godfather of Norwegian free jazz who dwells about as far from the so-called Nordic sound as you can get--and pianist Matthew Shipp -whose lineage can be traced back through what he terms The Black Mystery School, which takes in Thelonious Monk, Mal Waldron and Randy Weston among others--might seem unlikely, it makes perfect sense when you hear it. From the first piece About Music" on, it is clear that this pairing is not ...
read moreFrode Gjerstad / Kent Carter / John Stevens: Detail - 90
by John Eyles
The group Detail first played together in December 1981. After a short period when the Norwegian pianist Eiven One Pederson was a member, it stabilised as a trio comprising Norwegian saxophonist Frode Gjerstad, South African bassist (and one-time Blue Note artist) Johnny Dyani, and British drummer John Stevens; these three recorded the group's first album, Backwards and Forwards (Impetus, 1983), in Norway, in October 1982. More albums followed, with Ness (Impetus, 1986) featuring guests Bobby Bradford, Harry Beckett and Courtney ...
read moreFrode Gjerstad: Day Two
by John Sharpe
Detail was a band ahead of its time. The co-operative trio formed in 1981 by Norwegian reedman Frode Gjerstad and English drummer John Stevens, was completed in its first incarnation by South African bassist Johnny Dyani. Day Two was recorded in Gjerstad's hometown Stavanger, and as the name suggests, it was the result of the second day in the studio, following on from the session which generated Backwards And Forwards (Impetus, 1982). Originally released by Gjerstad as Okhela in cassette ...
read moreFrode Gjerstad / Fred Lonberg-Holm / Matthew Shipp: Season of Sadness
by Karl Ackermann
Norwegian multi-reedist/composer Frode Gjerstad has been active in free jazz and avant-garde music across five decades. Among his collaborators are Paal Nilssen-Love, Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, William Parker, Sabir Mateen and Johnny Dyani. Gjerstad has toured and played festivals extensively, in Europe and North America, and composed commissioned work for the historic Moldejazz festival. For Season of Sadness he is teamed with long-time associate and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and celebrated pianist Matthew Shipp. A staple of ...
read moreFrode Gjerstad: Bop Stop
by Giuseppe Segala
A cavallo tra gli anni Settanta e Ottanta, quando nella scena jazz norvegese la presenza dell'etichetta germanica Ecm stimolava e indirizzava le scelte di tanti musicisti, il sassofonista Frode Gjerstad si volgeva a un altro panorama, cercando il contatto con le odissee procellose dell'improvvisazione storica europea, volgendosi soprattutto all'area britannica. Qui collaborò con grandi maestri che fin dagli anni Sessanta avevano messo in fermento il mondo musicale del Vecchio Continente. Tra questi, il batterista John Stevens, che nel 1966 aveva ...
read moreFrode Gjerstad Trio + Steve Swell: Bop Stop
by John Sharpe
The bones of Norwegian saxophonist Frode Gjerstad's Trio go back a long way. He first co-opted drummer Paal Nilssen-Love into his Circulasione Totale Orchestra when he was still a teenager. Although bassist Jon Rune Strøm is a more recent recruit, he has still been on board since 2011. As such the consistently high quality interplay they generate should come as little surprise. The addition of trombonist Steve Swell to supplement the trio is a bonus, providing a foil for Gjerstad ...
read moreDetail: At Club 7
by Vic Albani
Questo disco è tratto da una registrazione su semplice e storica audiocassetta, effettuata nel leggendario Club 7 di Oslo nel settembre del 1982. I Detail, l'unico vero free-jazz group del tempo in Norvegia, erano stati chiamati a fare da set di apertura della band Masqualero, guidata dall'eroe locale Arild Andersen (con Jon Christensen, Nils Petter Molvaer e Tore Brunborg), che aveva appena pubblicato un disco per la ECM. Esattamente una settimana dopo questa registrazione, il pianista Eivin One Pedersen lasciò ...
read more