Source: CIRCUM-DISC.

TOC
INDOOR
In April 2019, Toc performs its first North American road-trip, and between the Canadian snow and the Baltimore humidity, appears for the 3 musicians the desire to come back to record in a studio. They hadn’t had a chance to do so since the recording of You Can Dance (If You Want) (2012), focusing on instantaneous and live composition: the band’s music is shaped with the audience.
JÉRÉMIE TERNOY : FENDER RHODES, PIANO BASS, MOOG, PIANO
IVANN CRUZ : ELECTRIC & ACOUSTIC GUITAR
PETER ORINS : DRUMS
Available on Bandcamp on September 4th

TOC & DAVE REMPIS
CLOSED FOR SAFETY REASONS
Toc invited Dave Rempis to join the trio in February 2018 for the release concert of “Will Never Play These Songs Again” at the malterie, Lille France. The meeting is instantaneous, the agreement immediate. Could it be otherwise? (…) In addition to their taste for improvisation without barriers or eyes, Toc and Dave Rempis share a communicative energy and power, play the density and the organic and joyful trance.
DAVE REMPIS : ALTO & TENOR SAXOPHONE
SAKINA ABDOU : TENOR SAXOPHONE (GUEST ON “TEMPORARY LEASE”)
JÉRÉMIE TERNOY : FENDER RHODES, PIANO BASS,
IVANN CRUZ : ELECTRIC GUITAR
PETER ORINS : DRUMS
Available on Bandcamp on September 4th

Source: Rune Grammofon.

Hedvig Mollestad: Ekhidna

In May 2018 Hedvig received an invitation from Vossajazz – the much loved annual festival established in 1973 – to write the commission work for 2019. This came at the right time, she had been thinking about writing for a bigger group than the trio, and this would be a good opportunity. To make it suitable for album release the full festival version was edited, sharpened and recorded from scratch in Amper Tone studio in Oslo. In addition to Hedvig on guitar, the line-up includes powerhouse drummer Torstein Lofthus (Elephant9) and percussionist Ole Mofjell, the youngest member, but with solid experience from the European improvisation scene. Keyboard duties are handled by Marte Eberson, probably most known from her five years with Highasakite, and Erlend Slettevoll (The Core and supergroup Grand General, Rune Grammofon 2013). Hedvig first met trumpeter Susana Santos Silva in Mats Gustafsson´s NU-ensemble. Ekhidna is a figure from Greek mythology; half woman, half snake. Hevig is keen to stress that it´s not a concept album as such, but loosely tied to themes of human struggle and being a mother in times when our increasing inability to live in harmony with nature paints a bleak picture.

I Like To Sleep: Daymare

aking their name from a Thelonious Monk quote, I Like To Sleep are three young Norwegian musicians, all 22 years old. Nicolas Leirtrø and Øyvind Leite first met in high school in Trondheim before they joined up with Amund in a youth big band. It soon became apparent that they shared the same musical background centered around ’70s progressive rock, classical music, jazz, and improvisation. Soon after the trio was formed, first for fun, but soon with higher ambitions, they won the prestigious “Young Jazz Musicians of the Year” award in 2018. Daymare is the trio’s second album, their debut was released on the small All Good Clean Records label in 2017. While their debut showed a lot of quality and promise, their new effort is a huge step forward on all accounts, especially considering their young age. The lazy way would be to place I Like To Sleep with certain other Rune Grammofon “power jazz” groups, but their unique instrumentation, natural openness and youthful curiosity place them apart from the rest. All three members are currently in the middle of their jazz studies at NTNU in Trondheim. They are active as composers, freelancers and in other projects, including concert booking on the city’s vibrant music scene. In case you recognize the name, Amund Storløkken Åse is the son of Ståle Storløkken who as a member of Supersilent appeared on Rune Grammofon’s very first release back in early 1998, and later on several more records with Supersilent, Humcrush, Elephant9, and a couple of times with Motorpsycho. The circle is closed. Personnel: Amund Storløkken Åse – vibraphone; Nicolas Leirtrø – baritone guitar; Øyvind Leite – drums.

Master Oogway: Earth And Other Worlds

Master Oogway are four young musicians aged between 23 and 26. They met at the Norwegian Academy of Music in 2015 with a common desire to play vibrant, improvised music with strong themes and room for spontaneity at a high energy level. Like many players on the young, Norwegian progressive jazz scene their instrumental skills are already highly developed but never used to show off. Earth And Other Worlds is the quartet’s second album, their debut was released on the Clean Feed label in 2018. Their new effort is more dynamic and varied and shows more mature and accomplished songwriting, not to mention the stronger group interactions and the impressive solo stretches from sax player Lauritz Lyster Skeidsvoll and guitarist/composer Håvard Nordberg Funderud. While it’s fair to say that they operate in much of the same musical landscape as Bushman’s Revenge or Kokofant, it’s equally fair to note that their general approach and attitude comes with a slightly stronger emphasis on jazz. Håvard Nordberg Funderud finished his bachelor at the Norwegian Academy of Music in 2018 and has also studied in Gothenburg and Copenhagen. He is involved in several projects, but Master Oogway is his priority. Lauritz Lyster Skeidsvoll and Karl Erik Horndalsveen have both finished their education at the same academy as Funderud. Martin Heggli Mellem is currently finishing his bachelor at the jazz program at NTNU in Trondheim. Personnel: Håvard Nordberg Funderud – guitar; Lauritz Lyster Skeidsvoll – saxophone; Karl Erik Horndalsveen – double bass; Martin Heggli Mellem – drums.

Source: Clean Feed Records.

Pedro Melo Alves
In Igma
A conceptual piece of work by a stellar and unusual band lead by one of the top emergent composers in Portugal these days. His drumming on The Rite of Trio has been surprising the world in every performance but nothing prepared you for this. Three singers, bass, piano, prepared guitar and drums play an equal role on the music.

Who Trio
Strell (The Music of Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn)
Absolute mastery of the three ones here, traveling so tight on this deep voyage as you can’t believe it. 20 years together as a trio can explain a lot about the way they go into and around the magnificent music composed by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.

Roots Magic Take Root Among the Stars (CD+LP*)
Third opus of the incredible band of Italians playing Afro American music in its many latitudes. They feel this music the way John Carter did some years back putting Charley Patton, Phil Cochran, Ornette Coleman, Skip James, Kalaparush Maurice McIntyre and Sun Ra in the same pot of folk music where they all belong. In my opinion once again they recreated the original music with knowledge and joy but this time much more organically. Roots Magic are a top band in Europe these days and they should be treated as that.
*LP only in Pre-order

Lynn Cassiers
Yun
I think of Lynn Cassiers as the most original conceptualist in Belgium jazz if that word means anything here. She brought eight American jazz standards and arranged them for an electro acoustic setup allowing the listener to find much details in the music in every listen of the record. The rewards are endless.

Martin Küchen & Landæus Trio
Mind The Gap of Silence
Multi reeders Martin Kuchen joins the solid and powerful Landaeus trio with his horns but also writing all the music for it. It’s such a joy to listen to Martin’s music played in such a different context from Angles and Trespass, makes one sure about the universality of his music. The trio is totally engaged making the music his own.

Larry Ochs & Aram Shelton Quartet
Continental Drift
A San Francisco related band led by Larry Ochs and Aram Shelton who you can listen on other Clean Feed releases don’t say all about the contend here. It’s surely in the jazz tradition as we see it in the XXI century but also comprises strong compositional elements that turns this record as a very unique one.

Nicola Snyder
Temporary Places
These are meticulously stitched together compositions constructed from field recordings made in several geographic locations, blended with various studio materials, like manipulated clay pots, organ flutes, branches, creaky chairs, cellos, piano, chorus, chimes and bells. These are Temporary Places indeed, moving and evolving, but all the while holding space for personal exploration and contemplation. Just beautiful.