Kathrine Windfeld Sextet - Aldebaran

Styles: Contemporary Jazz
Year: 2024
Time: 45:06
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 103,6 MB
Art: Front

(7:18) 1. First Speech
(5:40) 2. Aldebaran
(4:47) 3. Burnout
(6:24) 4. Jupiter
(6:48) 5. Sea Widow
(2:53) 6. Holding On To Gas Balloons
(5:52) 7. Offroad Excursions
(5:21) 8. Letter to Lviv

Kathrine Windfeld is considered one of the most exciting and refreshing new Scandinavian jazz composers and arrangers in many years.Her breathtaking compositions thrive on a rare combination of delicacy and strength: A colorful meeting of sophisticated harmonic passages, driving grooves and poetic ballads in explosive arrangements.

Kathrine Windfeld has been leading her big band and sextet for more than 10 years and has been touring in more than 15 countries. In 2022 she went on two tours in Brazil, performing her music with a Brazilian orchestra in sold out concert halls in Sao Paulo and Savassi.

With her four multiple awarded 4 big band releases AIRCRAFT (2014), LATENCY (2017), ORCA (2020) and DETERMINATION (2021) Kathrine Windfeld’s name quickly exceeded the borders of her Scandinavian home, leading to raving reviews in countless international publications like Le Monde (F), Jazzwise (UK) and Downbeat (USA).

Her 5th studio album is released in March 2024: Kathrine Windfeld Sextet - "Aldebaran" Her big band has shared stage with international greats like Mike Stern, Seamus Blake Immanuel Wilkins and Gilad Hekselman.

As the only European musician, she won the prestigious “Rising Stars Jazz Award” in London 2020, followed by a tour on seven top festivals. In 2022 she received the honorable “Ben Webster Prize” for her unique revitalisation of the big band genre.

Besides touring with her own big band and sextet, Kathrine Windfeld is an in-demand guest composer. Her ambitious work has led to highly acclaimed collaborations with international top-class orchestras like Frankfurt Radio Big Band (DE) Bohuslän Big Band (SE) and UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra (FI).
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/kathrine-windfeld/

Aldebaran

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Fredrik Kronkvist Feat. Kathrine Windfeld - Open Gates

Styles: Saxophone Jazz, Bop
Year: 2024
Time: 48:44
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 112,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:05) 1.Devotion
(1:12) 2.Blackbird Mornings Intro
(4:20) 3.Blackbird Mornings
(5:20) 4.Mandala
(5:50) 5.Healer
(7:03) 6.Trane’s Temple
(1:11) 7.Golden Fields Intro
(4:55) 8.Golden Fields
(4:48) 9.Stealth Mode
(5:30) 10.River Indigo
(4:24) 11.Volcano

The powerful and soulful altoman Fredrik Kronkvist is considered one of Europe’s finest alto saxophonists and takes charge whenever he is in the spotlight.
Fredrik is an award-winning saxophonist and he has several albums out as a leader.
Both his writing and improvisational skills are on display when he gives the audience his experience in drawing the heat from a tune with his big sound.

He is leading his own band where he presents a quartet, consisting of musicians from the vanguard of today´s jazzscene. His strong, creative spirit combined with a profound knowledge of the instrument and jazz has made him into one of Sweden’s international jazz stars.
More...https://fredrikkronkvist.wordpress.com/bio/

Open Gates

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Kathrine Windfeld Big Band Plays Thomas Agergaard - Black Swan

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:56
Size: 132,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:44) 1. Black Swan
(5:02) 2. Human Be Legends
(7:03) 3. Different Corner
(5:57) 4. Hast
(4:04) 5. Air Born Lotus
(3:48) 6. Op-us 1 Suite, Dream Society
(5:10) 7. Op-us 1 Suite, History Talks
(2:33) 8. Op-us 1 Suite, Fixing Room
(3:32) 9. Op-us 1 Suite, For Nick
(6:11) 10. Op-us 2 Suite, Storm P
(3:20) 11. Op-us 2 Suite, Testing
(3:27) 12. Op-us 2 Suite, Why Why Why

Do opposites really attract? Danish big band leader Kathrine Windfeld's compositions are meticulously worked out in advance, whereas saxophonist Thomas Agergaard, her collaborator on this gig, takes a different, more spontaneous approach.

"Thomas writes quite differently than I do," says Windfeld. "He thrives on the energy of the moment. This is beneficial to the music, but it is also a challenge when we are so many together and have to make something work within a limited time frame."

Some of the numbers on this album are reworkings of old compositions but others were put together in the studio just before the recording was made. The gentle, meditative ballad "Airborne Lotus" the most interesting song in the collection is an example of the latter approach. Agergaard's tenor states the theme over Windfeld's subdued piano accompaniment. "Dream Society," which follows, features Agergaard on alto flute and is darker and more intricate. It's part of a suite that includes three more songs, the most interesting of which is perhaps the brooding "For Nick."

It's all a bit hit and miss. There are some interesting bits and pieces but the suite and the CD in general, lacks overall musical coherence. The first suite is followed by a second which culminates in "Why Why Why," an existential cry of pain the listener may well feel like echoing.

After the session Windfeld said, "It's been exciting for the band and not least of all for myself, to have a different kind of repertoire." The impression was that she'd nonetheless be glad to return to more familiar if less exciting modus operandi in future. When opposites attract, perhaps it's only for a limited amount of time.By Chris Mosey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/black-swan-kathrine-windfeld-big-band-storyville-records-review-by-chris-mosey

Personnel: Kathrine Windfeld: piano; Gøran Abelli, Mikkel Aagaard, Anders Larson: trombone; Magnus Oseth, Andre Bak, Rolf Thofte Sørensen: trumpet; Thomas Agergaard, Jakub Wiecek, Roald Elm Larsen, Ida Karlsson, Toke Reines: saxophone; Viktor Sandstrøm: guitar; Johannes Vaht: bass; Henrik Holst Hansen: drums.

Black Swan

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Kathrine Windfeld - Latency

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:25
Size: 104,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:35) 1. Rude Machine
(5:12) 2. Elak
(6:39) 3. Latency
(5:11) 4. Leaving Portland
(5:40) 5. Roadmovie
(5:51) 6. Wasp
(5:58) 7. December Elegy
(4:15) 8. Double Fleisch

Kathrine Windfeld is a Danish pianist and composer who leads a largely Scandinavian big band featuring musicians from various countries with shores on the Baltic Sea.

Born in 1984 Windfeld studied at the Department of Musicology in Copenhagen and at the Swedish jazz school Fridhems Folkhogskola. She was part of the progressive jazz quintet Gespenst before establishing her own ongoing sextet in 2011.

Windfeld subsequently studied at the Malmo Music Academy in Sweden where she established a quartet plus her first big band. In 2014 she moved back to Copenhagen where she set up the current KWBB and in 2015 she recorded her début big band album “Aircraft”.

The famous Danish pianist Niels Lan Doky offered the KWBB a residency at his Copenhagen jazz club and the band continued to hone their sound while playing with illustrious visiting guest musicians such as guitarists Mike Stern and Gilad Hekselman, saxophonist Seamus Blake and the UK’s own Gerard Presencer (trumpet).

The KWBB’s second album “Latency” was recorded in Copenhagen in 2017 and features a programme of eight Windfeld original compositions, two of them co-writes with one Mads Sandberg. On line information about Sandberg is hard to find, so Windfeld’s collaborator remains something of a figure of mystery.

Nevertheless, the new album has been critically acclaimed and has enjoyed greater international exposure than its predecessor. In 2018 the band toured successfully in Germany and the UK, including a successful performance at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho, London. By Ian Mann
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/kathrine-windfeld-big-band-latency

Personnel: Kathrine Windfeld – Piano, Director, Composer, Arranger (DK); Andre Bak (DK), Rolf Thofte Sorensen (DK), Magnus Oseth (NO) - Trumpets & Flugels; Goran Abelli (SE), Mikkel Aargard (DK), Anders Larson (SE) – Trombones; Jakob Lundbak (DK) – Alto & Soprano Sax; Jakub Wiecek (PL) – Alto Sax; Roald Elm Larsen (DK), Ida Karlsson (SE) – Tenor Saxes; Toke Reines (DK) - Baritone Sax; Viktor Sandstrom (SE) - Guitar; Johannes Vaht (SE) – Bass; Henrik Holst (DK) – Drums

Latency

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Kathrine Windfeld - Orca

Styles: Piano
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:23
Size: 129,4 MB
Art: Front

( 7:04) 1. Undertow
( 5:21) 2. The Lifting
( 6:36) 3. Orca
( 7:01) 4. Dark Navy
( 6:59) 5. Harvest
( 7:51) 6. Fish
( 5:11) 7. Ferry
(10:17) 8. Seaweed

The Danish pianist Kathrine Windfeld has a burgeoning reputation around Europe as both leader and composer. This is the third album by her multi-national big band; in addition, she leads a sextet that performs regularly around Scandinavia and appeared here last year as a follow up to the well-received UK visit by this ensemble in September 2018.

Backed by plentiful support from home-land arts organisations, Windfeld's new album of eight original compositions mostly evokes her relationship with the sea, a not uncommon Danish fixation.

I'm trying to resist the idea that she is Denmark's equivalent to Maria Schneider but there are obvious similarities: a personal approach to repertoire, sudden shifts in musical moods and intensity, the skillful deployment of soloists and distintive voicings. All this is evident first on ‘Undertow’, the surging ebb and flow of the ocean mirrored in the writing, with quick motifs and rushing movements, Thueland's grainy alto surfing over an ostinato rhythm and Oseth's ethereal flugel heard over the piece's resolution. The title track reflects the essential grace of this ocean predator before the hurly burly of the chase as Løkke and Drasbæk close in on the kill. ‘Harvest’ is non-maritime, livelier but essentially autumnal in tone, Abelli's jubilant trombone perhaps signaling the end of the working day. Guest tenorist Bolla carries the weight throughout ‘The Lifting’ riding the ensemble's roller coaster moves with panache.

Here and there, Windfeld comes in, often to carry a theme or establish a rhythmic figure but also to solo, her interjections invariably pertinent. These pieces offer a compendium of possibilities; nothing is predictable, and much is startling, the orchestrations rich and invigorating, with the influence of Gil Evans occasionally seeping through.By Peter Vacher https://www.jazzwise.com/review/kathrine-windfeld-big-band-orca

Personnel: Kathrine Windfeld (p), André Bak (tp), Rolf Thofte Sørensen (tp),Magnus Oseth (tp, flh), Maj Berit Guassora (tp), Göran Abelli (tb), Mikkel Vig Aagaard (tb), Anders Larson (tb), Andre Jensen (tb), Jakob Lundbak (as), Magnus Thuelund (as),Roald Elm Larsen (ts), Ida Karlsson (ts), Aske Drasbæk (bs, bcl), Viktor Sandström (g), Johannes Vaht (b), Henrik Holst Hansen (dr), Claus Sørenseen (cond)

Orca

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Kathrine Windfeld, Bohuslän Big Band - Determination

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:46
Size: 105,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:46) 1. Crescendo
(6:39) 2. Safe And Sorrow
(6:18) 3. Weaver
(9:43) 4. Determination
(6:10) 5. We Will Depart
(4:03) 6. Block
(6:05) 7. Bloom

Kathrine Windfeld is considered one of the most exciting, and refreshing new Scandinavian jazz composers and arrangers in many years. Pianist, composer, and arranger Kathrine Windfeld was born 1984 in Svendborg on Funen. As a teenager, her strong creative sense was channeled through painting, theatre, singing, and piano playing. During a 5-month stay at a music course at “Den Rytmiske Højskole” in 2003, the piano became her primary means of expression and she started composing her first pieces.

Striving for a further exploration of the world of music, she went to The Department of Musicology in Copenhagen where she took classes in music theory and analysis, arranging for big band, and a master’s degree in choir/ensemble leading. Meanwhile, she played in an experimental and progressive quintet, “Gespenst”, which strongly developed her sense of writing and navigating in complex rhythmical landscapes. This group became her main path to the world of jazz and improvisation, for which reason she dedicated two years at the Swedish jazz school “Fridhems Folkhögskola” to jazz piano playing. In April 2016 KWBB was exclusively selected for a showcase at Jazzahead in Bremen, Germany, where they played for a broad panel of international bookers and jazz labels. KWBB's second album LATENCY was released at the renowned Scandinavian label Stunt Records in March 2017. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/kathrine-windfeld

Determination

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