Latest News
Rohey Taalah & Martin Myhre Olsen - New Album - Homage to Legends
Voice and saxophone are close relations. Both begin with breath; both can carry melody, shape language, bend pitch, roughen into texture or open into pure sound. Yet they are rarely left entirely alone together. Without piano, bass or drums, there is nowhere for either musician to disappear—and no predetermined division between soloist and accompaniment.
On Homage to Legends, vocalist Rohey Taalah and saxophonist Martin Myhre Olsen embrace that exposure. Working with voice, saxophones and occasional percussion, they seek orchestral breadth through the most economical of means. There are no overdubs, loop pedals, harmonisers, or layers of studio multiplication. Everything depends upon the range of sound two musicians can create in the moment, and upon the space they are willing to leave around it.
When I Return - New Single - To Admire
"To Admire" is both a tribute and a statement of intent: music written in recognition of the people and musicians who inspire us, and whose work gives us something to aspire to.
The single moves between high intensity, rapid changes and long, gracefully extended melodic lines. Its intricate arrangement is driven by a rhythm section kept at a constant simmer, placing When I Return firmly within the restless, expansive language of contemporary jazz.
The septet’s improvisational character is given plenty of room to emerge. Trumpeter Ola Lømo Ellingsen takes the first extended solo, before drummer Steinar Heide Bø and trombonist Jørgen Bjelkerud enter into a heated chase, pushing and answering one another as the piece gathers momentum.
"To Admire" was recorded during the same sessions as When I Return’s debut album, "The Weight of Bloom". It is now being released to coincide with the septet’s appearance at the Oslo Jazz Festival.
LILJA - New Single - Golden Hour
Muna began life as I, Oddrun Lilja’s commissioned work for the 50th anniversary of Vossa Jazz. Premiered in 2023 as the festival’s 42nd Tingingsverket, the piece was praised for its boldness, breadth and personal vision, with Ballade writing that Lilja had not merely invited music into her own world, but invited the musicians to create a new world together.
Norwegian Grammy Nominees
