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Olga Konkova and Jens Thoresen: December Songs
by Geno Thackara
It's a Christmas album even a Grinch can love. The title December Songs already hints that this affair is themed around the general season and mood rather than one particular holiday. The format (sparse piano/guitar duets) smoothly follows suit. The song selection includes a few of the same carols that always get overplayed at the end ...
Haakon Graf/Erik Smith/Per Mathisen: Sunrain
by Geno Thackara
Digging into the staggered groove of “Santa Monica" during an end-of-2014 performance in Oslo's Olsen Bar, Haakon Graf glides along the keys in an easygoing manner to begin building the show's energy. The electric trappings of '70s Jeff Beck come to mind--albeit without the guitar--alongside the sound of classic outfits like Weather Report and Herbie Hancock's ...
Michael Aadal Group: Pomona
by Mark Sullivan
Proof that great Americana music can come from unexpected places--Norway, in this case. Pomona Avenue in Fullerton, California was the original location of the famed Fender factory. Guitarist Michael Aadal used only solid body guitars on this album--a Stratocaster and a Telecaster, the most iconic Fender models. That says something about the sound of Pomona, but ...
Haakon Graf/Erik Smith/ Per Mathisen: Sunrain
by Mark Sullivan
"Sunrain" is a common Scandinavian weather phenomenon: after weeks of rain, there are often clouds with showers pouring down as the sun peers through the other side. Keyboardist/composer Haakon Graf considers it “a metaphor for the fabric of life, a place between a smile and a tear, like my music..." His trio with drummer Erik Smith ...
Punkt Festival 2016
by Henning Bolte
Punkt Festival Kristiansand, Norway September, 3-5, 2016 Punkt Festival in Kristiansand, Southern Norway, is a small, informal festival of internationally high artistic reputation and esteem. It takes place during the first week of September. Founded in 2005 its 12th edition as usual presented a wide range of musical performances and ...
Øystein Blix: Conditions
by Mark Sullivan
Norwegian trombonist/composer Øystein Blix presents a work with the unusual instrumentation of trombone, guitar (& electronics), drums (& electronics) and male choir. Composed for and premiered at the Northern Lights Festival in Tromsø in 2013, “the libretto is a commentary on the struggle that artists and cultural institutions in Italy must endure during these hard financial ...
Steel Guitar, Snow and Sunny Beaches: Five New Albums on Losen Records
by Jakob Baekgaard
Odd Gjelsnes' Norwegian label, Losen Records, has been incredibly prolific in recent years, releasing a staggering amount of quality albums. However, with so much music, it is hard to keep up with the pace. Here is an attempt to summarize a little portion of the recent recording activity of the label. Old names return, new names ...
Trygve Seim: Rumi Songs
by Mark Sullivan
Norwegian saxophonist Trygve Seim may lack the marquee status of countryman (and fellow ECM artist) Jan Garbarek. But he is no less adventurous, and has recently been popping up all over on 2016 ECM releases: on Mats Eilertsen's Rubicon; with Sinikka Langeland and the Trio Medieval on The Magical Forest; with Iro Haarla and symphony orchestra ...
Abdullah Ibrahim in Stunning Recital at the 30th Annual Oslo Jazz Festival
by John Ephland
Abdullah Ibrahim Universitetets Aula 30th Annual Oslo Jazz Festival Oslo, Norway August 16, 2016 Alternately rhapsodic and episodic, pianist/composer Abdullah Ibrahim filled the airs of the 500- seat Universitetets Aula with melody upon melody, all of it improvised yet seemingly composed. The occasion was the ...
Hanna Paulsberg Concept: Eastern Smiles
by Ian Patterson
Hanna Paulsberg's tenor saxophone voice is increasingly in demand for a wide variety of projects, from the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra to collaborations with Ellen Andrea Wang, Jon Balke, Andreas Ulvo, Erland Dahlen and veteran Knut Rissnaes. Yet her standing as a composer and leader of one of Norway's most outstanding young quartets has been firmly established ...
