Artist roster 2016/2017

Nils Petter Molvær (NPM), Norwegian musician, composer and producer, connects multiple music styles - jazz, ambient, house, electronic and break beats, as well as elements from hip hop, rock and pop music - and effortlessly melts them into convincing soundscapes of deep intensity. NEW ALBUM AND TOUR 2016. DATES ON REQUEST. For Germany and GAS-countries please contact artribute. http://eepurl.com/bArZBT

MARI KVIEN BRUNVOLL
Completely alone on stage, surrounded by kalimba, kazoo, zither and various electronics to sample and manipulate her voice, she's always a facinating experience in concert. Mari Kvien Brunvoll has a unique ability to fire up an audience, and has the ability to capture the listener into her universe and never let you go. Her music is a personal expression that straddles jazz, electro pop, acoustic blues and folk music from different corners of the world. DATES ON REQUESTS. http://eepurl.com/bAsOeL

ARVE HENRIKSEN & FENNESZ
With guitar, effects pedals and an ingenious computer setup, the Austrian musician Christian Fennesz team up with Arve Henriksens trumpet, vocals and live electronics to create a totally new and facinating musical universe. DATES ON REQUEST 2017. http://eepurl.com/bpsGc9

DAG ARNESEN
Having released three critically acclaimed records under the vignette "Norwegian Song", Dag Arnesen takes the concept further interacting with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Norwegian folk tunes and compositions written by Edvard Grieg,  Geirr Tveitt and Arnesen arranged and performed as modern jazz - with strings. Solo/trio/string quartet.
Available on request. http://eepurl.com/bq8fq1

Lill Lindfors er en av skandinavias mest allsidige og folkekjære artister. Lills artisteri er opplyst av glede av sang og musikalitet. Med sin varme, raushet og humor, har hun opp gjennom årene skapt en offentlig kontakt som er unik. Lills forestillinger er preget av frihet og lek, ydmykhet og glede, alt med et sterkt ønske om å skape noe nytt. En Sån Karl, Du Är Den Ende, En man i byrån, Sången Han Sjöng Var Min Egen og Musik ska byggas utav glädje. m.m. Kjente internasjonale slagere, egne hits, sambarytmer og dykk innom den rikholdige svenske visesangtradisjonen der navn som Cornelis Vreeswijk og Evert Taube er sentrale. Ledige datoer på forespørsel. http://eepurl.com/bAlyr5

Arild Andersen Trio with Tommy Smith and Paolo Vinaccia + special guest Helge Lien 
One of the most interesting and unusual jazz trios to have emerged in the last ten years is the international collaboration between Norwegian master bassist Arild Andersen, Scottish saxophonist Tommy Smith and Italian percussionist Paolo Vinaccia. Andersen formed the trio in 2007 with the clear aim of breaking new ground in contemporary jazz and their impact was immediate. Their group’s initial live performances were noted for their astonishing power, precision and dynamism. AVAILABLE on request. http://eepurl.com/bw-XJz

The mesmerizing voices of Oslo's Trio Mediaeval have captivated the concert world with their breathtaking performances and recordings of a diverse polyphonic repertoire that features medieval music from England and France, contemporary works written for the ensemble, and traditional Norwegian ballads and songs. AVAILABLE on request. http://eepurl.com/bsN4fj

Ola Kvernberg has received none less than three awards since his latest release. Liarbird (2011) was unanimously celebrated among critics both in Norway and abroad, and went on to win the Norwegian Grammy (Spellemannsprisen) for Best Jazz Album in 2012. During the Kongsberg Jazz Festival later that year, he received the country's biggest prize; The Kongsberg DNB Musicians Award, receiving 300.000NOK. . In 2013 he went on to win the Best Movie Music category at the Amanda Awards (norwegian Oscars equivalent) for his musical score for movie "Chasing the Wind". Ola Kvernberg presents his new works Steamdome at Moldejazz where he got the prestigious assignment as Artist In Residence for 2016.
AVAILABLE ON REQUEST. http://wpu.ir/y0xk2
 
HELGE LIEN TRIO. A little nation with a big jazz tradition is the land of fjords and trolls. Fascinating new artists and acts sporting a huge zest for playing and an irrepressible urge for experimentation keep pushing out of Norway to conquer the rest of the jazz world. The Helge Lien Trio, who have already won a large circle of fans in Scandinavia and Japan with their five albums and inspiring live concerts, are especially significant. They maintain the balance between jazz traditions and the avantgardist art of improvisation like hardly any other classic piano trio, par excellence. DATES ON REQUEST. http://www.kalleklev.no/artists/1-artists/1427-helge-lien-trio.html

Arve Henriksen is probably Norway's most versatile musician of his generation, always on the move, always searching and exploring possible and seemingly impossible paths. From the Rune Grammofon catalogue he will be known through the three solo albums, twelve releases as a founder member of groundbreaking improvising group Supersilent and four with Food (two of them on RG). He was a member of Christian Wallumrød Ensemble and has played and recorded with a large number of Norwegian and international musicians, most notably David Sylvian, Jan Bang and Dhafer Youssef. In 2008 the album ”Cartography” was released on ECM, but now Arve has a new album out on Rune Grammofon.. DATES ON REQUEST. http://www.kalleklev.no/artists/1/1416.html

Trygve Seim / Nordic Orient Rumi Songs
The Persian Sufi poet Jalaladin Rumi has had a great influence upon music, dance, poetry and philosophy in several countries. An active theologist, mystic and poet in the 13th century, Rumi left behind a large number of written material that has been a source of inspiration for mystics, musicians and other creative souls to this day. This is manifested once again when Norwegian composer Trygve Seim and his ensemble perform their Rumi Songs – a symbiosis of Rumi’s beautiful poetry and Scandinavian contemporary music. DATES ON REQUEST. http://eepurl.com/bBeTAH

SVANTE HENRYSON
Henryson/Balke/Jormin/Kleive Quartet
A band  made  up of  four  Scandinavian jazz  stars  –  Svante  Henryson  (cello),  Jon  Balke  (piano), Anders Jormin (double bass)  and Audun Kleive (drums) – some of the most influential musicians in the last twenty years of European  jazz.The  project,  which  began  with  the  first  edition  of   JonBalke’s Magnetic North Orchestra, was born thanks  to the open musical vision of  its leader SvanteHenryson and  has  its  roots  in  the  constant desire  of  its other  members  to  explore  and  interact.Henryson is a unique musician when it comes to voice  and phrasing, an all-around artist able  tomove  with absolute  freedom in a  musical  universe without distinction of musical genre.  He is acomposer  for  orchestra and a formidable improviser, equally comfortable playing  double bass  andelectric bass  as well as being a virtuoso on the cello.

SVANTE HENRYSON / KETIL BJØRNSTAD - NIGHT SONG
Ketil Bjørnstad returns to the piano/cello duo, instrumentation which defined two of his best-loved albums, "The River" and "Epigraphs" with David Darling, back in 1996 and 1998. This new collaboration with Svante Henryson, however, tells a different story. AVAILABLE 2017. MORE

BOBO STENSON TRIO
Master pianist Stenson, long term bassist Anders Jormin and alertly responsive young drummer Jon Fält have developed a richly detailed sound-world like nothing else in modern jazz – at once an extension of the jazz piano tradition and, with its windows opening onto classical music and world folklore, a force apart from it. AVAILABLE 2017. MORE

"Sommeren der ute / Once Upon a Summer"
Jan Erik Vold, Ellen Bødtker, Arve Henriksen and Eirik Raude
We are now setting up some selected concerts with Jan Erik Vold and Ellen Bødtker for the support of the release Sommeren der ute / Once Upon a Summer released the 20th of November 2015.
For the three past years, Jan Erik Vold and Ellen Bødtker have done several co-operations together, and have among other places toured Japan with his poems and her music.Inspired by these events, they have developed a completely new set of shows based on his texts and her musical themes. Now, the album Once Upon a Summer has been released. Combined with the eminent musicians Arve Henriksen and Eirik Raude, this is something unique!
Once Upon a Summer is a musical and poetic journey, that draws in atmospheres and emotions from the whole world. 
Album review from All About Jazz. MORE.

MORY KANTE
Known for the dazzling success of his song Yeke Yeke, Mory Kante, brilliant Guinean griot, singer and master of the kora, always thrills his audiences at every show - no matter where in the world he is performing! This musical pioneer of African music with his band of talented musicians, are always a breath of freshness from the musical mother-source, and an electric-and electrifying!-reminder of the unifying power of his truly planetary world music!. AVAILABLE 2017. MORE

Based on Norwegian folk tunes and hymns Iver kleive and Reiersrud added a new dimension to traditional church music. The music from the acclaimed "cathedral" trilogy; Blå Koral (91), Himmelskip (96) and Nåde over nåde (06) is built on old Norwegian folk tunes and hymns as well as their own compositions.  Available on request. Spotify. More

Ensemble Denada is recognized for its demanding art music, performed with a groovy twist and a dash of absurd Norwegian esprit. This 14-piece ensemble from Oslo may look like a big band, but it is truly an oversized quintet. The size and the line up generates some unique musical opportunities, boosting the interaction between composer/bandleader Helge Sunde and the performers. It is a musical collective where the creative process leading from the rehearsal room to the stage is the main asset. Blending strict composition and total improvisation, Ensemble Denadas music is attractive to a large audience. Available on requests. More. Spotify.

TJO & Ole Morten Vågan
Ole Morten Vågan is one of Norway's most sought after bass players. Running his own quintet MOTIF since 1998 he has performed his own music all over the world, from Japan to Australia, Canada/US and Europe. In May 2014 he premiered his new work with Trondheim Jazz Orchestra at Trondheim Jazz Festival. Available 2017. More.
 
STEINAR RAKNES is one of Norway’s foremost jazz bassists and songwriters. With his fearless and explosive playing style, he is often compared with the legendary bassist and songwriter Charles Mingus. Raknes is rcognized through his work as composer and musician in the award-winning jazz trio Urban Connection, and for collaborations with artists such as Chick Corea, Michael Brecker, Bobby McFerrin and Per Texas Johansson. He is the leader of his own jazz group, the Steinar Raknes Quartet "Tangos, ballads & more". In his project STILLHOUSE he sings and plays together with the American harp player Mickey Raphael (from the Willie Nelson band), the Norwegian vocalist Unni Wilhelmsen and Andreas Utnem on the pump organ.
Available 2017. More.
 
ANNELI DRECKER
In Norway, Anneli Drecker is known as the Queen of Arctic Electronica. Her ethereal voice became known through the music of her band, Bel Canto. At age 17, Anneli left her Arctic home town of Tromsø with band members Geir Jenssen (aka Biosphere) and Nils Johansen, for the pulsating indie scene in Bruxelles. Signed to the legendary Belgian label Crammed discs along with Zap Mama and Tuxedomoon, Bel Canto captured the Zeitgeist of European electronic music in the late eighties.The newest album Rocks And Straws are based on poems by the North Norwegian cult poet Arvid Hanssen, translated into English by Roy Frode Løvland. The poems have strong elements of nature mysticism, but also examines man and nature and the human nature. Anneli find it liberating to not sing "I-me-you-you" texts, but rather deal with something bigger, something that everyone shares. In 2016 Anneli joined A-ha for their final european tour, performing as support as well as singing back up with the band. AVAILABLE DATES ON REQUEST 2017. http://eepurl.com/bkvGm9

SINIKKA LANGELAND
The Magical Forest
New folk music work with Trio Mediaeval and outstanding jazz musicians
"It is inspiring to find traces and fragments of ideas about the world tree, axsis mundi, in Finnskogen. I have transformed these and some parallel stories into songs that are encircled by instrumental passages and improvisations by the musicians. Mircea Eliade comments on axsis mundi that, "every Microcosm, every inhabited region, has a Centre; that is to say, a place that is sacred above all."  Available on request. http://eepurl.com/b5HgM1

During the last couple of years IBRAHIM ELECTRIC has been one of the most popular European jazz groups... These 3 personal instrumentalists have - besides the popularity with this group - made a name for themselves as some of the most striking on their respective instruments in Scandinavia. NEW ALBUM OUT NOW. DATES ON REQUEST. http://eepurl.com/bz6Gbf

Guitarist Eivind Aarset, one of the most exciting, individual and creative voices from the Norwegian jazz underground, saw Electronique Noir, his first release as a leader, hailed as "One of the best post Miles electric jazz albums" by none other than the The New York Times as well as America's leading jazz magazine Jazz Times and the UK's Jazzwise. Now Light Extracts, his much anticipated follow up album, is set to establish Eivind as one of the key voices in European Nu-Jazz. NEW ALBUM I.E OUT NOW. DATES ON REQUESTS. For GAS please contact artribute. MORE

KRISTIN ASBJØRNSEN
Kristin’s latest album, "I'll meet you in the morning" received very good reviews in both the Norwegian and European press and it was followed with tours both in Norway, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Austria. Kristin Asbjørnsen is one of the most original and critically redeemed voices in the Norwegian jazz, pop and world music scene, and it’s always a great experience to witness her live. Her ensemble creates an unique ensemble sound, where the string and percussion instruments is combined in a warm and organic expression. The rich sound of her ensemble has elements of West-African and Afro-American music, Nordic jazz and contemplative church music. In 2016 Kristin Asbjørnsen introduced a new collaboration project with the Senegalese kora player Ablaye Cissoko and guitarist Olav Torget. The concert "Traces of You" is a commissioned work written by Kristin Asbjørnsen for Global Oslo Music.This trio opens up a new landscape in Kristin's multifaceted musical universe. The music carries imprints of both West African music, folk songs and contemplative, Nordic jazz. AVAILABLE ON REQUESTS. MORE

Geir Sundstøl & Erland Dahlen are two of the most prolific musicians from Norway. Now they have released solo discs "Furulund" and "Blossom bells", both on Hubro (hubromusic.com) in September.They will present the material in duo format on some selected concerts. http://eepurl.com/b0i-T9
 
We are excited to present an unique collaboration of Jamaica meets Scandinavia: Sly & Robbie meet Nils Petter Molvaer. They toured Europe this summer intensively - including all major festivals (Montreux, Pori, Molde, San Sebastian, Barbican and so on) - and the results were fantastic. Super enthusiastic audiences everywhere. Jamaica's multi Grammy Award winners and the heartbeat of the island will perform onstage with electro-jazz pioneer trumpet virtuoso Nils Petter Molvær and fellow Norwegian Eivind Aarset pluss finnish electronic-wiz Vladislav Delay (Sasu Ripatti) for some unique shows in 2015 with a set of new material (organic blend of electronic / dub / jazz / world) composed specially for this tour. Let us know of your interest. AVAILABLE on request. http://eepurl.com/bCxkPn

KORNSTAD ENSEMBLE
TENOR BATTLE
Kornstads new project is quite simply to fuse opera arias and jazz. Never has jazz and opera been mixed this way - never has a world renowned jazz musician suddenly turned into a promising opera tenor, refusing to leave his unique tenor saxophone sound behind. A real tenor battle! The sound of “Tenor Battle” is inspired from the 78 rpm-era of singing and jazz, where salon orchestras often switched between the classical hitparade and the popular music of the time. The sound, however is hard to describe. NEW ALBUM OUT NOW. AVAILABLE ON REQUEST. http://eepurl.com/bhYIcf
 
Ketil Bjørnstad
There is something of the Renaissance Man about Ketil Bjornstad who is recognised as a unique figure in the arts in Norway. Trained as a concert pianist, he has recorded over thirty albums since 1973, including five volumes of solo piano and collaborations with both jazz and rock musicians. Alongside his music career, he has been equally prolific as a writer, with over 25 novels plus collections of poetry and  books of essays. MORE

NILS ØKLAND
Nils Økland is a renowned master of Norway’s national instrument the Hardanger fiddle. However, his musical outlook is far wider than just traditional music and his contributions diverse. Both as an instrumentalist and as a composer he interlaces elements of classical and contemporary music as well as jazz with traditional Norwegian expressions, finding common traits and not least common expressive mindsets across genres and time periods. Økland belongs to the category of musicians who have come to represent an individual sound and a musical sensibility that is completely their own. MORE

TERJE RYPDAL
Starting out as a Hank Marvin-influenced rock guitarist with The Vanguards, Rypdal turned towards jazz in 1968 and joined Jan Garbarek's group and later George Russell's sextet and orchestra. An important step towards international attention was his participation in the free jazz festival in Baden-Baden, Germany in 1969, where he was part of a band led by Lester Bowie. During his musical studies at Oslo university and conservatory, he led the orchestra of the Norwegian version of the musical Hair. He has often recorded with ECM, both jazz-oriented material and classical compositions (some of which don't feature Rypdal's guitar). Today, Rypdal is an important member of the Norwegian jazz community. Available 2016. MORE

SIDSEL ENDRESEN
Norwegian avantgarde pioneer Sidsel Endresen has defined and re-defined vocal sound since her break-through in the early 1980s. Sidsel Endresen has worked with a vast number of musicians - in Norway and abroad, written music for films, theatrical productions as well as other commissioned work. She continues to be of huge inspiration to young vocalists (and improvisers in general!) around the globe. Her work has spanned genres from "fusion" and "jazz-rock in the 80's, to free-improvisation, electronics and "new music" in the 90's and the new millennium.
Endresen/Jan Bang
Endresen/Håkon Kornstad duo
Solo: solo-voice
AVAILABLE ON REQUEST 2017. MORE

JAN BANG / PUNKT/ATMOSPHÈRES
From his work as successful pop producer in the 1990s his creative thrust and pioneering work in developing the concept of live remix- improvising with electronics alongside more conventional instruments and performers -  has led today to  him being constantly in-demand  as producer and performer.There are times when it seems everything that has come before suddenly coalesces, reaches critical mass and engenders near-exponentially increased success and opportunity. For Jan Bang and Erik Honore, their Punkt live remix festival has evolved, since its early inception in Kristiansand, Norway, into a musical aesthetic brought to other festivals like Mannheim's Enjoy Jazz and Estonia's Jazzkaar. In ten years it's become a multinational event of world renown, its ever-expanding "Punkt Family" including a network of musicians that has— beyond Norwegian stalwarts like Arve Henriksen, Eivind Aarset and Sidsel Endresen—also welcomed British avant-songsmith David Sylvian, Estonian guitarist Robert Jürjendal, Japanese composer Dai Fujikura, and Spanish guitarist David Soler, amongst many others. MORE

ATMOSPHÉRES is a new prosject between Tigran Hamasyan (piano), Jan Bang (samples), Arve Henriksen (trompet, vocals), and Eivind Aarset (guitars). An album will be released late 2016, and this collaboration bodes for some spectacular live shows. AVAILABLE 2017. MORE

Christian Wallumrød has worked as a musician and composer since 1992, and he is considered one of the most prominent and influential musicians of his generation in Norway.  Following his debut on ECM Records (“No Birch”, issued in 1996), he has released a string of albums with Christian Wallumrød Ensemble (CWE) on the same label, all to considerable critical acclaim. The latest record ’Outstairs’ was rewarded with the Norwegian Grammy (Spellemannsprisen 2013). While being the composer and leader of his own ensemble, Wallumrød also focusses strongly on improvisation with another longstanding collaboration, the French/Norwegian group Dans Les Arbres (DLA), also with two releases on ECM. CWE and DLA has been his main body of work over the last 10-12 years, and both groups are touring extensively. A quite recent project is Brutter, Christian’s collaboration with drummer brother Fredrik, a duo dive into human and machine driven pulses. Early 2015 is release time for his first solo album named Pianokammer (on the Norwegian label Hubro). AVAILABLE 2017. MORE

Trondheim Voices is booking the release tour for their coming record “On Anodyne”. “On Anodyne” is a work composed and performed by Jon Balke for Trondheim Voices and Batagraf. The record is recorded in Rainbow Studio by Jan Erik Kongshaug, and will come out on the Norwegian label Grappa in October 2016. On Anodyne is composed for vocals and percussion and inspired by the West African Woloff-tradition. Balke has taken as his outset the endless possibilities and harmonic richness of Trondheim Voices’ and Batagraf’s complex rhythmical universe. “On Anodyne” is a celebratory piece to the body, music and the essence of human being.
"Grippingly beautiful, grippingly raw and brutal" - Johan Hauknes - Salt Peanuts. More

For information, contact:
KJELL KALLEKLEV MANAGEMENT

Kulturhuset USF - Georgernes Verft 12
N - 5011 Bergen
tel. +47 55557630
fax +47 55557631
e-mail: kjell@kalleklev.no
website: www.kalleklev.no