CONCERT AND TALK ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2023, AT 7:30 PM AT ALBUM BAR, HOVEDVAGTSSTRÆDE 2B, HELSINGØR
Please note that you can reserve a table for dining before, during, and after the event. Contact Album Bar at 30 58 48 42.
As the European Capital of Culture, we might as well get used to it: Cultural life throughout Elsinore is enriched by the unique qualities that emerge when artists collaborate across national borders.
In collaboration with Album Bar, we’re getting a sneak peek ahead of the New Nordic Quintet’s album release, “Stilhed & Storm,” and their concert in Helsingør. Before the concert, you can learn the story behind this unique Nordic jazz project as Aslak Gottlieb from Elsinore 2032 interviews the musicians in an intimate live talk:
7:30 PM Live talk with
8:00 PM Concert
Jazz singer Cathrine Legardh (DK) and alto saxophonist Sigurður Flosason (IS) have spent several years—across the Atlantic—composing 15 new songs in Danish: Legardh’s lyrics and Flosason’s music. The music was recorded in Denmark and finalized in Iceland. The album is titled “Stilhed & Storm” and was released on the renowned Storyville Records in June 2023—in Denmark, Iceland, and the rest of the Nordic region.
Legardh and Flosason have put together a New Nordic Quintet for the occasion—consisting of:
- Cathrine Legardh (vocals – Denmark)
- Sigurður Flosason (alto saxophone – Iceland)
- Jacob Christoffersen (piano – Denmark)
- Jesper Thorn (double bass – Denmark)
- Espen Laub von Lillienskjold (drums – Denmark)
MODERN MUSIC MEETS TRADITION – YOU COULD CALL IT NORDIC-INSPIRED JAZZ
Legardh is Danish but, with his Norwegian and Swedish family roots, spent much of his childhood in Norway in particular. Flosason is a full-blooded Icelander from Reykjavik, and in that sense, one could say that the lyrics and music are fundamentally rooted in Nordic culture—and partly inspired by Nordic folk songs. The music is primarily written to fit the lyrics—with a few exceptions where the opposite is true. Words and notes flow freely and intertwine; the melody wraps itself around the words—supporting and carrying them forward—always with the utmost respect for the written word.
“The lyrics are in Danish—which is quite unique and has been a great source of inspiration for me in my work as a composer. Jazz in Danish—as well as in the other Nordic languages—is extremely rare. It lends a personal, more direct, and honest expression. I’m very excited to see how it’s received,” says Sigurður Flosason.
Join us at Album Bar on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
In a press release ahead of the album’s release, the artists explain that they are inspired by nature as it sprouts, blooms, and withers in an endless cycle. Everything breathes in and out in an endless rhythm. The year runs its course; life begins and ends. Melody and lyrics go hand in hand, revolving around contrasts. When the storm rages outside, all is quiet inside—or vice versa. It’s about the distant and the near, the big and the small in humanity and in nature. The lyrics take their cue from modern humanity—its life and dilemmas—and above all, lived experience.
NATURE AND EVERYDAY POETRY
“It’s about life and death—and everything in between. It’s about losing a loved one; it’s about believing in something greater and the idea of where we go when we leave this world; it’s about the passing of the year and everything that goes in circles; about the trees that stand and watch while everything unfolds; it’s about motherhood and childbirth and children; about everything we surround ourselves with in daily life; about the good days and about the dog—its journey and joy through life—which one day will no longer be here …,” says Cathrine Legardh.”
BACKGROUND
Legardh & Flosason have been collaborating musically since 2009, when they were stranded beneath the volcano at
in Iceland. This collaboration resulted in the double album *Land & Sky* (Storyville Records 2011), which was nominated for *
* and *Vocal Jazz Album of the Year 2011* at both the Danish Music Awards and the Icelandic Music Awards. Flosason won the title of Composer of the Year in Iceland at
that same year in connection with his collaboration with Legardh. The lyrics here were also written by Legardh and the music composed by Flosason—the critics wrote:
“A volcanic eruption! You listen intently, and there’s something at stake in the emotional expression. Extremely
charming and deeply personal—a rarity!” ♥♥♥♥♥ POLITIKEN, Christian Munch-Hansen, 2011
“Land & Sky” in the Top 10 Danish Jazz Releases, JAZZNYT, Niels Overgaard, Dec. 2011
“Legardh delivers her phrasing and interpretation in a very distinctive and captivating manner, in a successful musical collaboration with Flosason.” INFORMATION, Peter H. Larsen, 2011
“There is edge, controlled wildness, and melody in this collaboration. ‘Land & Sky’ is a highly recommended and exceptionally great Danish jazz album, written in a familiar jazz idiom that isn’t afraid to challenge and build upon the familiar.” JAZZNYT, Niels Overgaard, 2011
Cathrine Legardh (b. 1973) is a Danish jazz vocalist and composer with Swedish and Norwegian roots. She trained as a music teacher but left the teaching profession in 2006. She has released six jazz albums on the renowned Storyville Records and has toured extensively both in Denmark and abroad. She embraces the Nordic sound, both when paying tribute to the Swedish jazz icon Monica Zetterlund and to the Danish poet Tove Ditlevsen. In addition, she performs for children with the orchestra NullerNix and, in that capacity, has released two CDs and a book, as well as developed teaching materials for the music publisher Wilhelm Hansen. In 2011, she was nominated for Music Awards in both Denmark and Iceland in connection with her collaboration with Sigurður Flosason.
legardh.dk & nullernix.dk
Sigurður Flosason (b. 1964) is an Icelandic alto saxophonist and one of his country’s most active and versatile musicians, with more than 32 albums to his credit. He was nominated for the Nordic Council Music Prize in 2000 and 2003. Nine-time winner of the Icelandic Music Awards—including the title of Composer of the Year in 2011 for his collaboration with Cathrine Legardh, with whom he was also nominated for the Danish Music Awards in 2011 (Vocal Jazz Album of the Year). www.sigurdurflosason.com
Jacob Christoffersen (b. 1967) is a jazz pianist and composer. He performs as a soloist with his own ensemble, the JC Trio, as well as a sideman in countless band configurations. He received the Ben Webster Award in 2013 and has performed over the years with, among others: Majbritte Ulrikkenholm, Hanne Boel, Søs Fenger, Sanne Salomonsen, Anne Dorte Michelsen, and last but not least Shu-bi-dua—for whom he played keyboards from 2001 to 2011. In the jazz context, he has played with, among others, Curtis Stigers, Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, Joey Baron, Billy Hart, Jimmy Cobb, the DR Big Band, Alex Riel, and as the longtime pianist for jazz singer Sinne Eeg. www.jacobchristoffersen.com
Jesper Thorn ( b. 1979) is a Danish double bassist and composer. He graduated from the Rhythm Conservatory in Copenhagen in 2011 and has also studied in New York with Ralph Alessi, Marc Helias, John Hébert, and Eric McPherson, among others. He has served as a sideman for artists such as Palle Mikkelborg, Lars Jansson, Alex Riel, Jørgen Leth, and the poet Søren Ulrik Thomsen. He has received several grants and awards—most recently winning a DMA in the Jazz Composer of the Year 2022 category. www.jesperthorn.com
Espen Laub von Lillienskjold (b. 1982), Danish drummer. Graduated as a soloist from the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus in 2009. Internationally, he has built a career with, among others, the English Matthew Herbert Big Band and Lillian Boutté from New Orleans—and in Denmark with Nikolaj Bentzon, Christina Dahl, Benjamin Koppel, Kjeld Lauritsen, Jan Harbeck, Mads Mathias, Magnus Thuelund, and many others! In 2017, he received the Bent Jædig Memorial Grant, and in 2022, he won the award for Orchestra of the Year with Bévort 3 at DMA Jazz. www.espenvon.dk
Cathrine Legardh & Sigurður Flosason. Photo: Gorm Valentin, The Village Recording, Oct. 2022
The music for the concert is kindly sponsored by Finansmanagement ApS
