Liv Stoveland - Close Your Eyes

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:34
Size: 99,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:21)  1. Close Your Eyes - 1
(4:54)  2. Remind Me
(2:15)  3. Four
(3:20)  4. Old Devil Moon
(4:37)  5. Angel Eyes
(3:46)  6. Come Rain or Come Shine
(3:32)  7. Daydreaming
(4:15)  8. Undecided
(6:03)  9. They All Laughed
(3:35) 10. Recordame
(2:52) 11. Close Your Eyes - 2

Liv Gudrun Stoveland Woie (born 12 March 1965 in Lillesand, Norway) is a Norwegian soprano and singing teacher. Stoveland was raised in a musical family. This brought her to a classical education as soprano at the Agder musikkonservatorium, and eventually a diploma from the Norwegian Academy of Music. She has participated in numerous productions in musical genres such as opera and church music, and has also taken up jazz. She has recited solo concerts and has performed as soloist in works such as Handel's "Messiah", Bach's "Christmas Oratorio" and "Requiem" by Brahms. She has a large repertoire in songs and lieder, and has sung Grieg, Sibelius, R. Strauss and Hugo Wolf numerous times. In recent years she has mostly sung classical baroque music and toured with "Stabat Mater" by Vivaldi on the Amalfi Coast in Italy in autumn 2013. Her debut album Close your eyes was released in 2009. A second album is on the way 2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liv_Stoveland

Close Your Eyes

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Kristin Asbjørnsen - The Night Shines Like The Day

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:14
Size: 92,8 MB
Art: Front

(1:02)  1. Green is everywhere
(3:51)  2. If this is the ending
(3:42)  3. Snowflake
(3:49)  4. Don't hide your face from me
(4:17)  5. Afloat
(3:06)  6. And I long to see you again
(1:28)  7. I'm too heavy now
(2:36)  8. Walk around me
(4:16)  9. Moment
(4:25) 10. Rain, oh Lord
(2:08) 11. One day my heart will break
(2:55) 12. Someday I'll carry you home
(2:32) 13. Lose

2009/2010 saw the release of Kristin’s new enchanting solo album: “The night shines like the day”. This is the first album totally based on Kristin’s own lyrics and music. The music is a powerful, mesmerizing beautiful exploration; quiet and intense, with an incredibly strong awareness in the way Kristin is approaching the songs. It’s soulful music that flows, touchingly grounded in Kristin’s unique voice. Kristin wrote the songs at the piano; but along the way the music developed within a haunting and distinctive ensemble sound, where West-African guitars blend creatively with the cello and piano. The arrangements are coloured by Kristin’s interpretations of African American spirituals on the critically acclaimed album ‘Wayfaring Stranger’, as well as her long term duo work with Tord Gustavsen. And they show traces of old gospel hymns and the West African danceable approach. http://kristinasbjornsen.com/album/the-night-shines-like-the-day/
Kristin says:

“I invited some of the musicians that have been very important to me during the past years. I feel humble and I am touched by the way they have approached my songs, with such powerful musical performances and with so much beauty.”
These arrangements are so finely tuned and rich in texture, with an exceptional playful interaction between the musicians. Still the music tender and somber expressions maintains the simplicity and the warm intimacy from where the songs were born.

“The night shines like the day” carries strong imprints of love.
The longing to embrace and being embraced.

“It has been a long journey since these songs started to grow in me. Working with the music has been both comforting and challenging. When everything falls apart and there seems to be no way out, we sometimes experience a glimpse of hope entering the darkness, that creates contours of a new view and new directions expressed in the title of the album: “The night shines like the day”. Creating these songs has been a process gradually grounded in a strong hope and belief that something broken can be turned into beauty.”

Personnel:  Kristin Asbjørnsen – vocals; Tord Gustavsen – piano and fender rhodes; Olav Torget – konting and guitars; Svante Henryson – cello and electric bass; Knut Aalefjær – percussion; Jostein Ansnes – vocals, lap steel and additional guitars; Sizwe Magwaza – vocals; Nils Petter Molvaer – Trumpet on “Moment”

The Night Shines Like The Day

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Rebekka Bakken - Things You Leave Behind

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:51
Size: 98,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:53)  1. Closer
(3:27)  2. Black Shades
(4:05)  3. Things You Leave Behind
(3:34)  4. Time After Time
(4:01)  5. Yankee Days
(4:08)  6. Shelter
(4:13)  7. True North
(2:55)  8. Charlie
(4:37)  9. Sound of Us
(3:54) 10. Hotel St. Pauli
(2:56) 11. Dance for You

Nordic folk-jazz chanteuse Rebekka Bakken was the most successful exponent of a new generation of Scandinavian jazz singers that also included Silje Nergaard, Sidsel Endresen, and Solveig Slettahjell. Born in Oslo in 1970, Bakken studied violin and piano as a child, and in 1995 relocated to New York City to pursue a professional music career. There she paired with Austrian-born guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel, and together they toured the local nightclub circuit as a duo. In time Bakken also befriended German pianist Julia Hülsmann, with whom she recorded the 2003 album Scattering Poems, a collection of jazz performances inspired by the poems of e.e. cummings. Upon completing the project Bakken returned to Europe, settling in Vienna and signing a solo deal with the Universum label. Her debut LP, The Art of How to Fall, followed by year's end, and in 2005 she resurfaced with her commercial breakthrough, Is That You? I Keep My Cool followed a year later. ~ Jason Ankeny https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/things-you-leave-behind/1416650722

Things You Leave Behind

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Tord Gustavsen Trio - The Other Side

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:35
Size: 153,8 MB
Art: Front

(6:04)  1. The Tunnel
(5:13)  2. Kirken, den er et gammelt hus
(5:17)  3. Re-Melt
(4:37)  4. Duality
(3:54)  5. Ingen vinner frem til den evige ro
(3:14)  6. Taste And See
(4:54)  7. Schlafes Bruder
(4:32)  8. Jesu, meine Freude / Jesus, det eneste
(3:24)  9. The Other Side
(3:33) 10. O Traurigkeit
(2:28) 11. Left Over Lullaby No. 4
(6:19) 12. Curves

Like a dusty, Southern gothic novel, Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen opens his return to the trio format with the moody, enigmatic "The Tunnel." All his compositions on The Other Side bare their secrets slowly and play out their methodically expressionistic hauntings with a gospel-influenced left hand seemingly rooted thousands of miles away in the muddy Louisiana delta. Though Being There (ECM, 2007) was widely hailed yet often criticized as being cool in nature, The Other Side is a warm, whole-cloth adventure of spacious interiors, dug into and revealed with the kindred aid of stalwart drummer Jarle Vespestad and new bassist Sigurd Hole, who bears his love of dark contours and folk influences on his sleeve, creating a full, deft space through which the pianist leads his trio. Harald Johnsen, the trio's original bassist, died of an unknown illness at the age of 41 in 2011. 

Gustavsen freely mixes the ancient music of Norway with his love of Bach, the pianist arranging three chorales for the album; amongst them, the Vespestad-led "Schlafes Bruder" integrates a deep groove that Bach may never have imagined. Gustavsen brings all he's learned in the interim years, playing with fiddlers and Iranian musicians, to his writing. "Re-Melt" is powered by the pianist's melodic insistence and Vespestad's understated groove. The atmospheric rumination of "Taste and See," "Leftover Lullaby No. 4," and the closing "Curves" are simply beautiful, lyrical statements, taken at a pace that almost belies time. ~ Mike Jurkovic https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-other-side-tord-gustavsen-ecm-records-review-by-mike-jurkovic.php

Personnel:  Tord Gustavsen: piano, electonics;  Sigurd Hole: bass;  Jarle Vespestad: drums.

The Other Side

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Inger Marie Gundersen - Feels Like Home

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:27
Size: 117,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:29)  1. Feels Like Home
(4:48)  2. (Sittin'on) The Dock of the Bay
(3:35)  3. Long as I Can See the Light
(5:32)  4. When October Goes
(3:40)  5. Given Time
(4:11)  6. If This Was
(4:39)  7. I Know These Hills
(4:26)  8. Try to Find Me
(3:47)  9. When All is Said and Done
(5:35) 10. Med Ogon Kansliga For Gront
(4:40) 11. Wichita Lineman (Bonus Track)

Inger Marie Gundersen has released her 5th recording, entitled “Feels Like Home.” She made her bandleading and recording debut relatively late in life in 2004 with “Make This Moment,” which immediately rose to the top of the more jazz-oriented vocal charts. This was especially true in Asia, where the albums sold by the thousands in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia. “By Myself” followed in 2006, “My Heart Would Have a Reason” in 2009, “For You” in 2011, and over the years, Inger Marie has also been “discovered” in Europe and the United States, where many of her songs are popular on streaming services’ playlists. Inger Marie has her own voice - dark, warm, heartfelt, and engaging - and she has always had a great sense for choosing exactly the right material, oftentimes well-known pop or rock songs, which she transforms into her own in her unique, hot, jazzy universe. In this universe, Inger Marie has always surrounded herself with the very best musicians, so the sound never gets oversimplified or lacks in depth. There’s time for reflection on “Feels Like Home,” and at a relaxed tempo we are pulled into Inger Marie’s wonderful world of versions of famous songs such as the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit, “Long as I Can See the Light,” Abba’s “When All Is Said and Done,” Otis Redding’s “Sittin’ On The Dock of the Bay,” and many more, after which listeners are treated to the beautiful Swedish song “Med ögon känsliga för grönt” (With Eyes Sensitive to Green) by Barbor Hörberg and Nils Hansén. Inger Marie’s personal and loving interpretations form images that, together with the musical arrangements, create alluring landscape paintings in the minds of the listener. Life isn’t always easy, but it feels good as long as you can see the light. Inger Marie Gundersen was born in the small town of Arendal, on the southern coast of Norway, on February 13th, 1957. She grew up as an only child with her parents, close to nature and in a peaceful environment. Her fascination and joy for music began in early childhood, with her father playing guitar and singing, filling their home with songs nearly every day. When she was young, Inger Marie studied at the University of Agder, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Health and Social Work. Ultimately, she always knew she really was a singer, and was on a musician’s path. Inger Marie waited for many years before she ventured out upon a solo career. She had ample experience though, from years of activities in the musical industry.

Feels Like Home

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Karin Krog - Folkways

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:42
Size: 112,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:36)  1. Waly Waly (The Water Is Wide)
(1:32)  2. Ola Ola Min Eigen Unge
(2:59)  3. Nissespill Og Fans Polka
(4:27)  4. Malfrid Min Frue
(1:51)  5. Arve Brakars halling (versjon 2)
(3:28)  6. Lokk
(1:05)  7. Pathway
(2:46)  8. Fingubben
(2:13)  9. Melodi
(2:07) 10. Brudedans
(2:18) 11. Purka
(1:49) 12. Gjestebudet
(2:45) 13. Vakker er du
(2:36) 14. Soldaten og jenta
(1:52) 15. Huldrevise
(2:48) 16. Halling medley / Arve Brakar
(1:45) 17. Bansull
(5:33) 18. Raga Variations
(1:03) 19. Pathway

Jazz singer Karin Krog may have made stormy improv recordings with a young Jan Garbarek in the late 60s, but this is almost entirely a folk album, devoted to the traditional Norwegian music collected by her violinist great-grandfather, Anders Heyerdahl. As such, it perhaps refines the notion of a niche-market venture more tightly than usual, but folk devotees and jazz admirers of Krog's graceful handling of the malleability of tone will warm to this highly personal set  which features her partner and collaborator John Surman as a second voice on various reed instruments. 

Krog's deceptive simplicity guides an expressive account of The Water Is Wide as an opener, but almost all the rest of the material is sung in Norwegian some of it jiggily fiddle-driven and Celtic-sounding, some of it like stately lullabies or gospel songs, such as Krog's solo exposition Arve Brakar. Norwegian contemporary composer Arne Nordheim contributed Raga Variations, a tapestry of wordless vocal sighs, Surman's wraith-like soprano sax and subtle electronics a set of sonic surprises the album could perhaps have used a little more of, but it's beautifully executed. ~ John Fordham https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/mar/03/karin-krog-folkways-review

Folkways

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Karin Krog, Per Borthen Swing Department - Swingin' Arrival

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:05
Size: 89.5 MB
Styles: Swing
Year: 1980
Art: Front

[4:21] 1. Sailboat In The Moonlight
[2:45] 2. Did You Mean It
[3:44] 3. When A Woman Loves A Man
[4:09] 4. Wop
[4:18] 5. The Moon Looks Down And Laugh
[4:06] 6. When Day Is Done
[3:07] 7. Say It With A Kiss
[4:23] 8. I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me
[3:32] 9. What Shall I Say
[4:35] 10. Moten Swing

Alto Saxophone – Kristian Bergheim; Bass – Bjørn Pedersen; Drums – Arvid Bjerke[ Guitar – Finn Westbye; Tenor Saxophone – Totti Bergh; Trombone – Aage Teigen; Trumpet – Per Borthen; Vocals – Karin Krog.

Karin Krog (born May 15, 1937 in Oslo) is a Norwegian jazz singer. She is considered one of Norway's premier jazz singers and enjoys great international recognition. She is the granddaughter of musician/composer Anders Heyerdahl. Karin Krog's career began at jam sessions at Penguin Club in Oslo under contract as a singer in Kjell Karlsen's sixth (1955). In the following period she became known throughout the radio, and when the first jazz festival in Molde was held, she also sang there with Kjell Karlsen's quartet. In 1962 she started her first own band, but also collaborated with Frode Thingnæs and Egil Kapstad. In 1964 she released her first solo album, By Myself. In 1965 she joined the Norwegian Jazz Forum and became leader of this. In 1969, she began studying song at Ivo Knecevic. In the following years, she has collaborated with a host of well-known national and international musicians, such as Jon Christensen, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Kenny Drew, Don Ellis, Archie Shepp, John Surman, Red Mitchell, Bengt Hallberg and others.

Per Borthen (born July 12, 1940) is a Norwegian jazz musician (trumpet) and band leader. His own "Per Borthen Swing Department Ltd." was established in 1966. They performed with Swingin 'Arrival (Talent Studios, 1980), participated in Jazz in Norway 1960-1970 (Herman Records) and Swingin' (Evigo, 2001) with vocalist contributions from Karin Krog and Laila Dalseth (as a time-song with the group).

Swingin' Arrival

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The Real Thing - New Wrapping

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:50
Size: 93.5 MB
Styles: Soul-jazz
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[5:31] 1. No Bones About It
[3:23] 2. Schmell
[4:27] 3. Summer Blue
[5:53] 4. La Garota
[5:05] 5. Wrap It Up
[4:02] 6. On The Bus
[4:46] 7. The Black Pearl
[3:37] 8. Swedish Compliments
[4:00] 9. Maybe Paris

The Real Thing was a Soul Jazz Band from Oslo, Norway, founded in 1992 when Sigurd Køhn and Palle Wagnberg formed the forerunner, The B3 Blues Band with Vidar Busk and Hamlet Pedersen. They changed the name when Staffan William-Olsson and Fredrik Carl Stormer joined the band. Størmer was replaced by Torstein Ellingsen in 1995, and Ellingsen again by Børre Dalhaug in 1998. Due to the sudden death of the band's saxophonist Sigurd Køhn in December 2004 The Real Thing was hibernating until a reunion in 2010.

The quartet released eight albums, their debut in 1992 with the album The Real Thing and later both live and studio recordings. They for the most play original music, combining influences from American Blue Note jazz (represented by people such as like Jimmy Smith, George Benson and Wes Montgomery) and elements from modern popular music. The result is a mixture of genres including swing, blues, soul, Latin, funk and rock.

New Wrapping mc
New Wrapping zippy

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Alex Acuna, Jan Gunnar Hoff, Per Mathiesen - Jungle City

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:41
Size: 145.8 MB
Styles: Contemporary jazz
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[5:07] 1. Jungle City
[6:03] 2. Jangala
[5:59] 3. Blessing
[7:31] 4. One For Jaco
[4:49] 5. Voices
[6:20] 6. Maya Pejo
[4:13] 7. Det Bästa
[5:23] 8. Africa
[4:03] 9. Visions
[7:00] 10. Tribute
[7:09] 11. Night Zone

Peruvian drummer and percussionist Alex Acuna learned trumpet and piano from his father, while teaching himself the rudiments of drumming. He became a studio musician in Lima at 16, and joined Prez Prado's band in 1964, coming with them to Las Vegas. Acuna worked from 1966-1975 as a studio musician in Puerto Rico and Los Angeles as well as Las Vegas, then joined Weather Report. He alternated roles there during his two-year stint, splitting time between being their percussionist and drummer. Acuna made two albums with Weather Report, among them the hugely successful Heavy Weather, before leaving. He formed his own band, Koinoni, in 1980. Acuna has not attained the high profile of other Latin percussionists like Airto or Nana Vasconcelos, but has a lengthy list of professional credits, including recording dates with Clare Fischer, Ella Fitzgerald, Tania Maria, Chick Corea, Paco De Lucia and Joni Mitchell, plus a stint in guitarist Lee Ritenour's group. He's merged traditional Peruvian and modern Latin rhythms into a charged personal style that also reflects the influence of Elvin Jones and Tony Williams, among others. His current band has recorded for JVC, and mixes Afro-Latin and Latin jazz with funk and fusion.

Per Mathisen is a Norwegian jazz musician (upright bass and guitar bass) and composer, known from collaborations with great jazz musicians like Terri Lyne Carrington, Geri Allen, Gary Thomas, Bill Bruford, Alex Acuña, Gary Husband, Ralph Peterson, Nguyen Le and Terje Rypdal.[1][2] He is married to pianist Olga Konkova, and the brother of jazz musicians Hans Mathisen (guitar), Nils Mathisen (keyboards, guitar and violin) and Ole Mathisen (saxophone and clarinet).

Jan Gunnar Hoff is one of Norway´s most experienced piano- and keyboardplayers, born in Bodø 1958. He performs extensively in bandsettings with artists like Mike Stern and Alex Acuña and with his new Hoff/Mazur/Henriksen/Jormin- quartet. Hoff was the arranger and ensemble leader of Quiet Winter Night, Grammy-nominated for Best Surround Sound in 2013, an album where he successfully merges elements of jazz, folk and popular music (with Arild Andersen, Mathias Eick, Helene Bøksle a.o).

Jungle City

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Electrocutango - Felino

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:12
Size: 124.1 MB
Styles: Electric tango, Latin
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[4:04] 1. Felino
[3:57] 2. Victoriosa
[5:23] 3. Rivadavia
[2:48] 4. Electroqtango
[1:19] 5. 12 Tango
[5:40] 6. Regina
[4:23] 7. El Llorón
[6:22] 8. Renacere
[2:14] 9. Misterienzo
[3:45] 10. Sin Piel
[2:42] 11. Astorlokefu
[4:04] 12. A Fuego Violento
[2:43] 13. Retrolonga
[4:42] 14. Mi Viejo Dolor

Electrocutango is considered on of the most dynamic, innovative and original expressions of the new electro-tango movement. The sound is identified as tango with an update rather than electronica with exotic seasoning. The music has a distinct identity based on tanguero musicianship and with an original approach to fusions with anything from Puerto Rico, Brazil, RnB, DnB, jazz or contemporary music. Its even a hit in Buenos Aires even though its from Norway …!

Behind Electrocutango is the norwegian pianist and composer/arranger Sverre Indris Joner. He early began to play and compose music with emphasis on the latin genres. He writes for ballet, theatre, orchestra, film and has arranged numerous tangos and other latin genres for symphony orchestra performing as a soloist. He is also founder of the quartet Tango For 3 that is renowned for its interpretation of a wide range of titles from ABBA, James Bond, Grieg & Brahms to Salgan and Triolo.

Unlike traditional tango the improvisation is a central element in Electrocutango´s music. And different from most electronic tangos Electrocutango is basicly tanguero fusioned with all the rest – not the other way around… And when a lot of fun and unexpected fusions are thrown on top that makes it a real ball! And not surprisingly – the tango-dancers takes the challenge! The album Felino is already considered a classic within the electronic tango genre.

Felino mc
Felino zippy

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Kari Bremnes - Norwegian Mood

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:18
Size: 121,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:11)  1. A Lover In Berlin
(4:24)  2. Coastal Ship
(5:45)  3. Montreal
(3:23)  4. My Heart Is Pounding Like A Hammer
(5:00)  5. Birds
(5:34)  6. Day
(4:03)  7. Wave On Rock
(4:28)  8. The Copenhagen Cavern
(5:01)  9. Song To A Town
(5:40) 10. Riddle Beside Another Riddle
(3:44) 11. To Give You A Song

Norwegian born singer and songwriter Kari Bremnes was born in 1956 in Lofoten. Her career as a performer was delayed by her desire to finish university (she earned a Master's Degree) and a short stint as a journalist. Eventually, the call of the stage won out, and in 1987 she released her first album, Mitt Ville Hjerte. From there, Bremnes went on to release more than ten full-lengths over the next 20 years, as well as a number of successful  in Norway and in other European nations singles. In 2007, Bremnes released the album Reise or, "Journey," in English. ~ Chris True  https://itunes.apple.com/be/album/norwegian-mood/296133850

Norwegian Mood

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Steve Brown, Ulf Bandgren - In To Norway

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:33
Size: 136.3 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[4:04] 1. You Stepped Out Of A Dream
[5:37] 2. Voce Vai Ver (You Will See)
[4:50] 3. Con Alma
[4:11] 4. In To Norway
[4:58] 5. Angel Eyes
[5:29] 6. Have You Met Miss Jones
[5:39] 7. So Danco Samba
[6:02] 8. Five Roses
[4:21] 9. Just Friends
[5:07] 10. Black Eyes
[4:14] 11. Nascimento
[4:54] 12. Spring Ahead

This CD is the third in a series of Jazz Guitar Duo recordings that I have made on the Brown Cats Productions label. The first was with Portland, Oregon based John Stowell and is called “Cross Roads” (BC9503). The second was with my Argentinian friend now living in Madrid, Spain, Gullermo Bazzola and is called “Una Pequena Alegria” (BC 9508). Even though the format for all three CDs involves just two guitars, they are never the less quite different, due in many ways to the individuality of each player and the repertoire chosen to record. All the CDs were recorded “live” in the studio and did not include overdubs. We recorded as though we were playing a concert.

I first met Ulf Bandgren in Ithaca, New York, when he accompanied Hilde Brekke on one of her many visits from The University of Gothenburg to do advanced study in nutrition at Cornell University. During that visit and subsequent others, Ulf and I performed together as a duo and with various other sized groups. He invited me to Gothenburg where he teaches jazz guitar, to play concerts, even organizing a big band concert of my music with the students from the University. We also did a little tour of six concerts and traveled “into Norway” for a short visit.

The photo on the cover by Barbara Katz-Brown, was taken at Frognerparken, Oslo, Norway, and the sculptures were all part of the Vigeland installation. Gustav Vigeland lived between 1869 and 1943 and all of the pieces in the park were installed there between 1920 and 1943. It’s a must see when visiting Oslo! ~S. Brown

In To Norway mc
In To Norway zippy

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Pierre Sward Organ Jazz'n Soul Group - Slow But Fast

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:21
Size: 131.3 MB
Styles: Organ jazz, Funk
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[5:00] 1. South Street Stroll
[6:22] 2. Chicago Swing
[8:35] 3. Mr. Syms
[3:55] 4. Kool And The Gang
[4:51] 5. A Waltz In The Park
[6:03] 6. Georgia On My Mind
[5:24] 7. Frankfurt Funk
[5:05] 8. Walk With Me
[5:05] 9. Slow But Fast Slow But Fast
[6:57] 10. Stuffin'

Pierre Swärd: organ; Jan Ottesen: guitar; Joakim Ekberg: drums.

This album poses two problems. First: the electric organ. Even when played by a master like Jimmy Smith, monotony can easily set in. It's something to do with the way the instrument dominates so completely, leaving no space. Problem No.2: funk, the dominant genre on Slow But Fast. The idea is to hit a groove, preferably—as US DJ Pete Fallico explains in his sleeve note, one of the "in-the-pocket" variety—and then do it to death. Again, monotony hovers. Pierre Swärd's way out of this double impasse is to incorporate more interesting musical numbers into his book and make frequent changes of style and tempo. Sometimes, as in the case of John Coltrane's "Mr. Syms," he is strikingly successful.

From the 1962 Atlantic album, Coltrane Plays The Blues, this is a haunting minor blues with a bridge reminiscent of "Summertime," one of the tenor player's favorite pieces. After an uncertain intro with Joakim Ekberg's drums sounding rather like coconut shells imitating horses' hooves, Swärd and guitarist Jan Ottesen come up with a laid-back, lyrical treatment to make it the stand-out track. But at the other end of the scale, Swärd crucifies Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia On My Mind," ruining the melody of that "old, sweet song" with a lot of flashy, pseudo-dramatic flourishes and embellishments, something else the electric organ seems designed to encourage.

Swärd aimed at a relaxed feel for this album, recording it not in a studio, but in an ordinary rehearsal room in the Swedish university city of Uppsala. He explains, "We decided to record one or two tracks there to see how it worked. We got such a great feeling that we wound up doing the whole thing there." The session kicks off with Kenny Barron's "South Street Stroll," a number the pianist wrote for Freddie Hubbard. Swärd's version never quite settles down and ends in an over blown climax. The deceptively simple "Chicago Swing," which follows, vies with the title track as the most successful of six Swärd originals.

Slow But Fast mc
Slow But Fast zippy

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Kristin Asbjornsen - Traces Of You

Size: 90,4 MB
Time: 38:23
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. By Your Side (3:33)
02. You Hold Me While Leaving Me (3:53)
03. She Holds My Hand (3:17)
04. Promise (4:06)
05. We Haven't Found Our Way Back Home (3:15)
06. Goodbye (3:19)
07. Finally (3:10)
08. I Won't Leave The Room (3:32)
09. Spring Reappears (4:36)
10. Traces Of You (2:23)
11. Vil Du Være Her Bestandig (3:13)

Personnel:
Olav Torget – guitars, konting & bass
Suntou Susso – kora & vocals
Anders Engen – percussion & vocals
Monica Ifejilika – vocals

Based on her assured melodic flair and poetic lyrics, Kristin has on Traces of You explored new fields of music. The songs have developed a haunting sound where vocals, guitars, kora, konting and hand claps are woven creatively into a meditative and warm vibration.

The album’s expression is naked and rich in details, with traces of West African music, lullabyes and Nordic contemporary jazz.

Traces of You has a serene intensity, conveyed by the unique presence of Kristin’s vocals.

The album was made in close collaboration with her longtime guitarist Olav Torget and sound maestro Ulf Holand. The album also introduces a new musical encounter with the Gambian griot and kora player Suntou Susso. Lyrical African ornaments unite in a playful dialogue with a sonorous guitar universe. Kristin sings in moving chorus with griot Suntou, using excerpts of her poems translated into Mandinka language.

Traces of You embracing the complexity and beauty of belonging. The songs are like delicate sensations: of life’s imprints, presence and love’s transformations.

Traces Of You

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Inger Marie Gundersen - Make This Moment

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:10
Size: 115,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:38)  1. Let It Be Me
(3:16)  2. Make This Moment
(5:58)  3. Blame It On My Youth
(4:47)  4. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
(5:02)  5. But Beautiful
(4:21)  6. Melancholy Blue
(6:03)  7. Fool On The Hill / Nature Boy
(4:18)  8. Song For You Far Away
(5:14)  9. Always On My Mind
(3:11) 10. Just A Song Before I Go
(4:15) 11. Sebastians Waltz

During some downtime from watching American Idol on the eight nights it seems to be on each week, I was able to listen to Make This Moment by vocalist Inger Marie Gundersen. The album is a nice reminder that vocal performances do not always have to be unbridled exhibitions of melismatic acrobatics. Indeed the hallmark of the album is an admirable restraint, and even austerity in the vocals and instrumentation. Make This Moment features a unique mix of new songs, standards, and classic pop/rock offerings. "Let It Be Me, popularized by the Everly Brothers, doesn't necessarily lend itself to extended improvisation, but it does give Gundersen the chance to caress the lovely melody with her smoky voice. She also offers a tender version of the perennial "Always On My Mind. Gundersen's band offers sympathetic, yet unobtrusive support. A medley of "Fool on the Hill and "Nature Boy features a sensitive saxophone solo by Øivind G. Stømer, who is the son of Gundersen. However, for the most part, the performances remain lean and free of any showy solos. The focus is on the songs. Make This Moment is an encouraging debut solo recording by a promising talent. Gundersen and her band treat their material with the utmost respect and delicacy. The album is a refreshingly tasteful affair. ~ Stephen Latessa https://www.allaboutjazz.com/make-this-moment-inger-marie-gundersen-kultur-and-spetakkel-review-by-stephen-latessa.php

Personnel: Inger Marie Gundersen-vocals; Oscar Jansen-piano; Ole Kristian Kvamme-bass; Geir Age Johnsen-drums; Kristoffer Hansen-arrangement and piano on track 9;

Make This Moment

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Siril Malmedal Hauge & Jacob Young - Last Things

Size: 103,0 MB
Time: 40:53
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. Bounce With Me (3:39)
02. I Will (3:55)
03. Little Wing (2:53)
04. Skylark (3:48)
05. Last Things (3:48)
06. Deep River (5:19)
07. So In Love (4:08)
08. No Moon At All (2:57)
09. Lilac Wine (4:50)
10. Ballad Of The Sad Young Men (5:30)

The duo of Siril Malmedal Hauge and Jacob Young arose after they were both invited to participate as studio musicians on a record recording in 2016.
A few weeks later Siril called to Jacob and wondered if they should do anything more, something Jacob had already had in mind. Thus it became reality. They started working and did some sporadic performances together before going to the studio and playing for the result "Last Things".

Siril's unique talent and formidability as a vocalist takes immediate focus when listening to her. Siril and Jacob are both comfortable in much of the classic jazz repertoire, but at the same time they are not afraid to explode with songs from other genres.

"Beautiful, melodious and melancholy" - Fredrik Wandrup, Dagbladet

"Duo debut with crafts and art.
A young singer and a tanned guitarist performs as a duo in a ballad-dominated jazz / pop / original repertoire. "- Terje Mosnes, Jazzinorge.no

Last Things

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Low-Fly Quintet - Stop For A While

Size: 99,9 MB
Time: 38:12
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Thank You (4:06)
02. Black And Blue (5:52)
03. But Beautiful (4:22)
04. A Sweeter Dream (2:47)
05. Stop For A While (3:13)
06. As I Love You (3:22)
07. After You´ve Gone (3:50)
08. I Want To Be Evil (3:08)
09. Black Coffee (4:27)
10. Madness (3:00)

Low-Fly Quintet will release their first album on the renowned Norwegian jazz label Losen Records. Their performance on the debut album ”Stop For A While” will give you a sense of being present in a smoky, underground, jazz club in New York.

LFQ composes Vivacious, Sexy, Elegant, Raw, & Genuine original songs inspired by vocal jazz from the early 30’s. They also impart their innovative interpretation of select familiar songs from the same era. Their modern approach to the classical sound of traditional vocal jazz will surprise and move you. Low-Fly Quintet transports you back in time to the music that incited emotionalism. The theme of thisdebut album is both raw everyday realism, and colourful daydream-like life. Some songs feature tender, embracing love that relieves tension, while other songs are about more complex and sometimes even dark aspects of life that leave the listener in a state of reflection. LFQ’s artistry will take you on a journey where you’ll experience a musical interlude that will be charming, fun, sensual, energetic and unique.

Stop For A While

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Solveig Slettahjell - Live At Victoria

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:03
Size: 108,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:23)  1. 12th Of Never
(5:18)  2. How Long Has This Been Going On
(3:25)  3. Visit
(5:29)  4. Be Steady
(5:57)  5. Take It With Me
(3:01)  6. Outlet
(5:33)  7. Is My Living In Vain
(6:37)  8. Come Healing
(4:48)  9. I Don t Feel No Ways Tired
(3:28) 10. A Day

A singer, alone, at a piano is not an unusual sight. But when that singer is Solveig Slettahjell, the rarity of the moment becomes vivid, and the expectation of what this moment could deliver is amplified. And, on a September night in 2017, at Nasjonal Jazzscene in Victoria, Oslo, Solveig gave such a performance. "Magical moments guaranteed" ran the tagline, and for once it was not advertising hyperbole. Guests joined for some songs: Pål Hausken provided percussive accompaniment on some tracks, while the choir Safari appeared to provide a whole new ambience to proceedings. However, their sparing use adds colour and drama at just the right moments, never resorting to mere chorus build-up and repetition. Featuring a set made of standards, original material, and settings of poems by Emily Dickinson, Solveig's performance is a masterful blend of emotional honesty and technical brilliance. Her delivery of classics by the likes of Gershwin, or more recent creations by Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen is bold and forthright, and her interpretations retain the spirits of the originals while marking them clearly with her own stylistic thumbprint. Her Emily Dickinson interpretations are much more than mere exercises they are charged with the energy of the original poetry, and often viewed through unexpected lenses, such as on "Visit" (where Solveig leaves the piano and is accompanied by Pål Hausken) which becomes a blues-washed chaingang song; "Outlet" again takes a view of the lyrics through a blues filter; and "A Day" presents an arrangement that Tom Waits at his Asylum Years best would be proud of.  This Solveig's second release through Jazzland Recordings, the previous being "Tarpan Seasons" (2009), a studio album that introduced a number of the tracks in this live recordings, perhaps most notably her interpretations of Emily Dickinson "A Day" and "Visit".

Personnel:  Solveig Slettahjell: Vocals, Piano;  Pål Hausken: Drums, Vocals; Safari (Eirik Kaasa, Åshild Kristin Stensrud Kaasa, Martha Sofie Eide, Malin Byberg, Åshild Sandvik, Nora Nesbakken, Tone Ravndal, Christoffer Holten Gidske and Johan Helland): choir;  Daniel Mikael Wold: live sound and recording.

Live At Victoria

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The Real Thing - Oh No! Not... The Real Thing... Again!

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:06
Size: 112.4 MB
Styles: Soul jazz, B3 Organ jazz
Year: 2018
Art: Front

[5:13] 1. Relaxin' At Smoke
[4:28] 2. Pat On The Shoulder
[4:54] 3. Dog Food
[4:44] 4. My Song For You
[5:16] 5. Backdoor Creeper
[6:28] 6. Melancolico
[3:42] 7. Doctor's Orders
[4:04] 8. Absolutely Yeah Yeah
[4:42] 9. Split Decision
[5:31] 10. Battle Hymn Of The Republic

Dave Edge (sax); Staffan William-Olsson (g); Paul Wagnberg(Hammond org); Hermund Nygård (ds).

The Real Thing is a Soul Jazz Band from Oslo, Norway, founded in 1992 when Sigurd Køhn and Palle Wagnberg formed the forerunner, The B3 Blues Band with Vidar Busk and Hamlet Pedersen. They changed the name when Staffan William-Olsson and Fredrik Carl Stormer joined the band. Størmer was replaced by Torstein Ellingsen in 1995, and Ellingsen again by Børre Dalhaug in 1998. Due to the sudden death of the band's saxophonist Sigurd Køhn in December 2004 The Real Thing was hibernating until a reunion in 2010.[1][2]

The quartet released eight albums, their debut in 1992 with the album The Real Thing and later both live and studio recordings. They for the most play original music, combining influences from American Blue Note jazz (represented by people such aslike Jimmy Smith, George Benson and Wes Montgomery) and elements from modern popular music. The result is a mixture of genres including swing, blues, soul, Latin, funk and rock.

Oh No! Not... The Real Thing... Again! mc
Oh No! Not... The Real Thing... Again! zippy

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Lena Nymark - Trapped In The Silence

Size: 105,9 MB
Time: 45:25
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. Niece In Paris (2:26)
02. Beast In The Dark (3:59)
03. Flying Tuna (4:04)
04. Good Times (3:38)
05. Trapped In The Silence (4:16)
06. Black Hole (3:52)
07. Sad Ocean (3:52)
08. Western Australian Coral Pearl (4:17)
09. The Mirror (4:26)
10. No Soul Syndrome (4:54)
11. Sukkerspinn Av Glass (5:36)

Norwegian pop-jazz, singer-songwriter-flutist-clarinetist Lena Nymark sophomore solo album «Trapped In The Silence» brings again the issue of silence of our lives, as on one of her previous albums, «Beautiful Silence» (Grappa, 2014). It may be the quiet, peaceful surroundings of the Sula island where she lives or the long terms of silence that she needs to write her music. Nymark work in the last decade focused mainly on collaborations with percussionist Terje Isungset’s ice project and with fellow-Sula resident, clarinetist Jens Arne Molvær (father of trumpeter Nils Petter).

«Trapped In The Silence» was recorded at the pastoral studio of Ocean Sound Recordings in Giske, the same place that Nymark recorded «Beautiful Silence», and radiates similar innocent, disarming atmosphere, dipped in reserved melancholy. Nymark delivery – as a vocalist and flutist and clarinetist – is warm and clear, leaving enough space for pianist Dag-Filip Roaldsnes, bass player Jo Fougner Skaansar and drummer Stig Harald Rennestraum. Still, Nymark vocal delivery sound more natural and nuanced when she sings in Norwegian, with a playful Sula accent, on the last song «Sukkerspinn av glass», the only song that is sung in Norwegian.

Nymark suggests a series of touching, emotional environments in her songs, but careful not to surrender fully to these emotions. Even when she visualizes the winter darkness as the darkness inside her in «Beast in the Dark», a darkness that turns her «into a beast», she knows that she will turn this darkness into love. In the title song the gory images of a a deserted, angry lover do not match the restrained emotional envelope of the song. And on «No Soul Syndrome» she reaffirms her trust in love despite the realization that our world is filled with many «people with no soul».

Nymark most beautiful song on this album is «The Mirror», where she balances images of yearning, sea and aging with a delicate, poetic playing of all.

Trapped In The Silence

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