This year’s Oslo Jazz Talent bands!
The eight bands will be playing FREE concerts at Becco, Blå - Himmel and Herr Nilsen Wednesday through saturday in week 33.
Drop Bear is an electroacoustic trio based in Trondheim, playing music that exists in the borderland between electronic beat music, improvised music, and jazz.
Alex Ventling - synth, Gard Kronborg - bass, Øyvind Leite - trommer
Drop Bear will play at Herr Nilsen on Friday 16. August, 21.00 and Blå - Himmel, Saturday 17. August, 21.00
Elise Sløgedal released her debut EP WHILE YOU WAIT in October 2023, featuring four songs that lie between pop, jazz, gospel, R&B, and soul. Accompanying her is a fantastic band that met at the Norwegian Academy of Music. Together, they developed the songs on the EP and are now working towards their debut album!
Elise Sløgedal - vocals, Alice Lewin - backing vocals, Rebecca Granåsen - backing vocals, Øystein Folkedal - keyboards, Morten Georg Gismervik - guitar, Torjus Gravir Klykken - bass, Tobias Rønnevig - drums
Elise Sløgedal performs at Blå - Himmel on Wednesday Herr Nilsen on Wednesday, 21.00 and Herr Nilsen on Friday 16. August, 23.00.
Flaig Quartet is a quartet with roots from Trondheim. With a clever sound consisting of vibraphone, saxophone, double bass, and drums, they switch between fine, open soundscapes and an acoustically cohesive sound that is playful and spontaneous.
Skage Larsen - vibraphone, Mads Lundh - saxophone, Tarald Kongshaug - bass, Erik Wie Flaig - drums
Flaig Quartet performs at Herr Nilsen on Thursday 15. August, 22. 30 and on Becco on Saturday, 17. August, 20.00.
Himmelskip is an Oslo-based band. The members of the group have backgrounds in a variety of genres: rock, jazz, metal, pop, and country. This is reflected in the music they create, where nothing can be categorized into a single genre. Drawing inspiration from artists such as Geir Sundstøl, Trond Kallevåg, and Bon Iver, Himmelskip creates cinematic music with many parallels to folk and singer-songwriter music.
Elias Wallumrød - guitar, Simen Harstad - guitar, Torjus Gravir Klykken - bass, Tobias Rønnevig - drums
Himmelskip performs at Becco Thursday 15. August, 20.00 and Herr Nilsen on Saturday, 17. August, 21.30.
MONSTERA is a sextet that was started in the spring of 2021 and operates in the fusion of danceable rhythms, playful improvisations, lively melodies, and dreamy soundscapes.
Ola Lømo Ellingsen - trumpet, electronics, Jørgen Bjelkerud - trombone, electronics, Anna Ueland - keys, synth, Amund Stenøien - vibraphone, Gard Kronborg - bass, Steinar Heide Bø - drums
MONSTERA performs at Becco on Wednesday 14. August, 20.00 and Herr Nilsen on Thursday, 15. August, 21.00.
Ragnarök Trio is a NO/NL-based project led by the Icelandic guitarist Thorkell Ragnar. The music is strongly influenced by punk, rock and various compositional concepts from the 20th century; serialism, symmetry and free atonality. The trio explores these musical elements through a free improvisational style, and seeks to create a unique sound world that is both abstract and chaotic. A kind of doomsday jazz.
Thorkell Ragnar Gretarsson - guitar, Jesse Schilderink - saxophone, Jens Meijer - drums
Ragnarök Trio plays at Blå - Himmel Thursday 15. August, 21.00 and Herr Nilsen on Saturday 17. August, 23.00.
Science Fair is a Norwegian/Estonian quintet from the jazz scene in Trondheim. They play energetic free jazz inspired by Atomic, Flukten, Carla Bley and Bjørn Marius Hegge. The core of the music is the close interaction and the individuality of the musicians. The music is melodically rooted with intuitive melodies that are challenged with conceptual harmonics. This is music based on freedom and energy.
Guro Kvåle - trombone, Åsne Fossmark - tenor saxophone, Anna Ueland - piano, Kertu Aer - double bass, Gustav Tornberg - drums (substitute)
Science Fair plays at Herr Nilsen Wednesday 14. August, 22.30 and Blå - Himmel on Friday 16 August, 21.30.
The Sverre Sæbø Quintet consists of some of Western Norway's most forward-looking and interesting improvisers who, through their shared references to American free jazz and today's eclectic music society, create their own space in modern Nordic jazz.
Sverre Sæbø - double bass, Andreas H. Hatzikiriakidis - trumpet, Heidi Kvelvane - alto saxophone, Aksel Ø. Røed - tenor saxophone, Amund Nordstrøm - drums
Sverre Sæbø Quintet plays at Herr Nilsen on Wednesday 15 August, 21.00 and Becco on Friday 16 August, 20.00.