To close this year's festival, the twelve-member Andreas Røysum Ensemble from Norway blasts the stage at its Berlin premiere at Quasimodo and promises a brilliant evening of danceable grooves and rousing atmosphere.

German premiere

Andreas Røysum Ensemble

(NO, DK, SE, US)

In recent years, clarinettist Andreas Røysum has not only made a name for himself as a musician leading a steadily growing ensemble; he has also developed into a driving force in the Norwegian scene for jazz and improvised music as a festival organizer and activist. The lineup of his ensemble, as he now presents it in Berlin, includes eleven musicians*. Earlier recordings of the group bring free jazz in its spirited style into the present and live from the interplay between the oversized ensemble and compositions that reflect the musical curiosity of the band leader and his current interest in traditional African and Asian music. On their new album, an even wider range of stylistic influences mixes into the lively hybrid: the big band instrumentation continues to serve danceable grooves, while Røysum's compositions sound more melodic and celebratory than ever. Among the globe-trotting sounds Røysum seamlessly weaves into his compositions are British folk songs like "Barbara Allen" and "Hares on the Mountain" on the new album, which hardly seems surprising given his collaboration with the great Scottish folk singer Alisdair Roberts on a special studio project. Røysum believes in the transformative power of music and puts heart and soul into his playing as he shares the stage with his talented ensemble mates.

Line-up

Andreas Røysum - clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet

Sofie Tollefsbøl- vocals

Signe Emmeluth - alto saxophone

Marthe Lea - tenor saxophone

Hans P. Kjorstad - violin

Erik Kimestad Pedersen - trumpet

Øyvind Brække - trombone

Joel Ring - cello

John Andrew Wilhite - double bass

Christian Meaas Svendsen - double bass

Andreas Wildhagen - drums

Ivar Myrset Asheim - percussion