Kjetil Jerve: piano
Andreas Wildhagen: drums
Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø: trombone

Think of Scandinavian jazz and two extremes come to mind – the meandering, softly intoned lines of players such as Arve Henriksen, Jan Garbarek and Nils Petter Molvaer on the one hand, and the fierce, thrusting improv of Paal Nilssen-Love and Mats Gustafsson on the other. Norway’s Lana Trio clearly like both of these things and in their music they attempt to find a delicate balance between intense, free jazz and exploration of more open-ended and non-idiomatic free improvisations.

The three musicians began to play together after meeting at Sund Folk college in 2007. Trombonist Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø explores both the brassy and boisterous side of the trombone and its microscopic and electronic sound possibilities, and he brings both elements into play with the trio. Together with pianist Kjetil Jerve and drummer Andreas Wildhagen the trio explore ways in which parameters like density, speed, duration and volume can be stretched (or compressed) to create different possibilities for interplay between the three musicians.

Their music moves in several, contrasting directions. Between abstract sound-oriented experiments, exploration of loose pulses along with dense and energetic interplay. Its level of energy is much higher than most other experimental Norwegian outfits who opt to follow the Sofa Music school of minimal and static improvisations, including Nørstebø’s own As Deafness Increases. The experimental side does not affect the fast and intuitive interplay that this trio has solidified through years of playing together.

Tilt

Ron Caines: saxophones
Gus Garside: double bass
Dave Fowler: drums

Plus

The Wildcard Quartet