Cologne Jazzweek: Gard Nilssen – Supersonic Orchestra

In the organizer's words:

Translated into German, "supersonic" means supersonic. This is roughly what it feels like when the Supersonic Orchestra, led by Norwegian drummer Gard Nilssen, with its brass and woodwind players plus three basses and three drum sets, blazes over the heads of the audience. This orchestra was created as a kind of commissioned work when Nilssen was "Artist in Residence" for the 2019 jazz festival in Molde, Norway. However, the performance of this orchestra reveals more than just the sheer power of ten wind players and six rhythm players. The energetic power of the three-piece rhythm section is shaken when you pay attention to the microtiming of the bassists and drummers, which suddenly creates simmering grooves and differentiated dynamics. The sheer volume of the brass section is almost reduced when composed parts are interspersed and the raging clusters of sound surprisingly condense and dissolve in equal measure. Today's orchestral jazz is both aesthetically and stylistically demanding and challenging.

Eirik Hegdal - sax
Per "Texas" Johansson - sax
Kjetil Møster - sax
Sissel Vera Pettersen - sax
Maciej Obara - sax
André Roligheten - sax
Thomas Johansson - trp
Goran Kajfes - trp
Erik Johannessen - trb
Guro Kvåle - trb
Petter Eldh - b
Ole Morten Vågan - b
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten - b
Håkon Mjåset Johansen - dr
Hans Hulbækmo - dr
Gard Nilssen - dr

Double concert with Emily Wittbrodt & Annie Bloch - The Mendelssohn-Project

More info on our website.