Hope 2026 is off to a great start for you. Iâm excited to share some recent highlights from the projects Iâm working with. An incredible live video of Amirtha Kidambiâs Elder Ones at Le Guess Who? 2025 has just been released. Itâs a powerful performance with brand new music, and we're thrilled itâs finally out in the world. You can also tune in to a new episode of the Outernational podcast, recorded at LGW? as well. The episode features a panel led by Amirtha, with Saul Williams, Masello Motana, Asher Gamedze, and Dirar Kalash. Itâs a special and important conversation â well worth a listen. A couple of weeks earlier, another wonderful live video was released: a documentation of Ingebrigt HĂĽker Flatenâs (Exit) Knarr at Cologne Jazzweek. The bandâs album Drops was also included in Bandcampâs Best Jazz Albums of 2025âan exciting recognition. Iâm equally proud to share that the debut album by Andreas Røysum Ensemble & Marvin Tate was featured in Bandcampâs Best Jazz selection for January 2026. Please scroll down for links and upcoming tour dates for all the projects Iâm booking. Iâd love to connectâhope to hear from you soon! |
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AMIRTHA KIDAMBI'S ELDER ONES |
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Touring dates 2026: 26th June - 12th July 1st - 18th October |
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The Quietus "The sprawl of the performance reaffirms that, on top of everything else, the group can fucking cook." / "Kidambi is always a force of nature as a vocalist." |
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INGEBRIGT HĂ
KER FLATEN (EXIT) KNARR |
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Touring dates 2026: 23rd - 24th May 26th October - 4th November |
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BANDCAMP - BEST JAZZ ALBUM OF 2025 The art of Friedensreich Hundertwasser immediately came to mind the first time I heard Ingebrigt HĂĽker Flatenâs Drops. The vivid colors, the unconventional perspectives, the avant-garde societal-upheaval ethos, and the adherence to spirals, curves, and anything that is not a straight lineâall characteristics that burn brightly on Drops. An album that is very much in the spirit of the 1960âs/70âs avant-garde big bands, the âcompositionsâ were artwork Flaten created to convey the feelings, thoughts, and sounds he wanted to see manifested in the music. Amalie Dahl (alto sax), Karl Hjalmar Nyberg (tenor sax, electronics), Marta Warelis (piano, electronics), Jonathan F. Horne (guitar), Olaf Olsen (drums), Mette Rasmussen (alto sax), Veslemøy Narvesen (drums) join HĂĽker Flaten for an album with a wilder, bigger, more raucous sound typically generated by ensembles thrice their numbers. Intense and fun. |
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ANDREAS RĂYSUM ENSEMBLE & MARVIN TATE |
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Touring dates 2026: 15th - 25th October |
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BEST JAZZ  ON BANDCAMP, JANUARY 2026 âLyrically, Marvin Tate and Andreas Røysum are the perfect match. Beauty from chaos, transcendental peace from upheaval and volatilityâthese are the qualities that mark their solo work, and also in collaboration. Their music scales harmonically to great heights, then allows gravity to take hold for a thrilling descent. The sharp lyricism and buoyant tunefulness are not at odds with one another, nor are moments of the profound and those that elicit a smile. Joining Chicago spoken word legend Tate and clarinet all-star Røysum is a large ensemble comprised of both acoustic and electric instruments, and it includes some familiar names to this column, such as bassist Christian Meaas Svendsen, alto saxophonist Signe Emmeluth, and drummer-percussionist Andreas Wildhagen.â |
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Touring dates 2026 & 2027: 30th June - 9th July 16th - 25th November  29th January - 7th February 2027 |
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In 2025 ĂKSE's debut album has been awarded: Deutscher Jazzpreis - International Album of the Year Danish Music Awards - Alternative Jazz Album of the Year |
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Touring dates 2026: 16th - 19th July 8th - 18th October |
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Jazzfest Berlin 2025 - Sarah for The Free Jazz Blog:Â Back at the club across town, away from the packed Festspiele, a different kind of packed show was taking place. The atmosphere here was entirely different - adventurous, playful, and free-spirited. Iâm not sure what gave The Young Mothers their special sheen. Perhaps it was the combination of instruments or the colourful combination of characters onstage. Maybe it was the uplifting, catchy melodies. When everyone sings along in chorus: âIt is better if you let it,â itâs such a happy sound and I canât get the smile off my face. The crowd is immersed in the bright aura of the beautiful music, far from the mainstream, and wonderfully creative. Jonathan F. Horne whips out a violin bow and starts going to town with it on his guitar, giving a double meaning to the term âshredding.â Itâs most entertaining keeping an eye on Stefan GonzĂĄlez the percussionist, pivoting from pretty vibraphone articulations to intense black metal blast beats on the drum kit, and throaty growling. It sounds almost schizophrenic on paper, but the transitions between the metal segments were seamless and fit the mood, which also shifted via a fusion of genres from jazz, to hip-hop to rock and beyond. It felt like a party - one I never wanted to end. Â Vilnius Jazz Festival 2025 - All About Jazz: Rather than blending influences, the group treated them as energies in immediate circulation. The performance did not summarise the festival; it intensified it, affirming that artistic riskârather than polishâremains the principle that defines Vilnius Jazz. Â |
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Touring dates 2026: 11th - 20th September |
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In the beginning of March, Marthe Lea Band is going back into the studio again to record their next album! I am so excited to share with you the results, so stay tuned! |
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OTOMO YOSHIHIDE's NEW JAZZ QUINTET |
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Touring dates 2026: 29th October - 8th November |
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Touring dates 2026: 10th - 13th June |
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DARIUS JONES & OTOMO YOSHIHIDE NEW COLLABORATION feat. Gerald Cleaver, Yasuhiro Yoshigaki and Nick Dunston |
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Touring dates 2026: 14th - 23rd August |
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Maridalsveien 229C Oslo, 0467, Norway |
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