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Kristoffer Berre Alberts
DAMANA: Rhizome
by Troy Dostert
Enterprising drummer Dag Magnus Narvesen has been a leading figure in the Norwegian improvised music scene since the 2010s. He has specialized in free encounters, such as those with pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, heard most recently to fine effect on Kairos (Fundacja Sluchaj, 2024). But Narvesen also has a developing voice as a composer, and on Rhizome his octet, DAMANA, provides an expansive and colorful palette with which to explore this side of his muse. The album is ...
Continue ReadingScheen Jazzorkester & Cortex: Frameworks
by John Sharpe
Frameworks is the sort of project that would be difficult to envisage anywhere other than the supportive cultural ecosystem of Norway. Calling on diverse funding streams, it brings together the 11-member Scheen Jazzorkester (SJO) and the forward looking quartet Cortex, in a venture masterminded by the latter's trumpeter Thomas Johansson. Established in 2010 as a professional large jazz ensemble, the SJO has become a major force in Norwegian progressive composer-based ensembles with numerous releases to its name. Johansson's roots are ...
Continue ReadingCortex: Legal Tender
by Mark Corroto
The Norwegian quartet Cortex answers the question, what would have happened if the Wynton Marsalis and Branford Marsalis, had advanced the jazz canon instead of looking backwards for inspiration. Remember when the two young lions burst onto the scene in the 1980s with their self-righteous mission to save jazz? They did so by stuffing it, much like a taxidermist, to preserve an endangered species. Their neocon approach actually can make us grateful for bands like Cortex with their inclinations to ...
Continue ReadingSteve Noble / Kristoffer Berre Alberts: Coldest Second Yesterday
by John Sharpe
Saxophone/drum duets tend to bring out the devil in people. Norwegian reedman Kristoffer Berre Alberts' approach might come as a surprise for those familiar with him only through his work with bands such as Snik and Cortex. Here he explores the edges to the exclusion of almost all else, with barely a conventional pitch among the false fingering and overblowing. But his companion Steve Noble is one of the most rhythmic of European free drummers and his presence ensures that ...
Continue ReadingDag Magnus Narvesen Octet: Cornua Copiae
by John Sharpe
At times there seems no end to the bewildering stream of talent emerging from the Norwegian jazz scene. Fresh off the conveyor belt comes drummer Dag Magnus Narvesen whose Damana Octet functions more akin to an even larger ensemble, thanks to some expertly voiced charts. On the roster are some increasingly familiar names, such as saxophonists Kristoffer Alberts and Andre Roligheten, alongside a welter of less well known but equally skilled compatriots. In its blend of concise yet integrated solos ...
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