Record Reviews

ODDGEIR BERG TRIO ~ BEFORE DAWN OZELLA 072 (Barcode: 4038952000720) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2016 Released: 2018 This is the debut album by Norwegian trio led by keyboardist / composer Oddgeir BergFind albums by this artist with bassist Karl-Joakim WisloffFind albums by this artist and drummer Klaus Robert BlomvikFind albums by this artist. The album presents eleven original compositions, all by Berg. The music is an interesting and quite unique collection of compositions, all melody based, and yet offering a fresh approach, both harmonically and rhythmically, which creates an illusion of listening to a Rock album, even though the music has seemingly nothing directly to do with Rock and is dressed up as a Jazz, or perhaps is a new kind of Jazz-Rock Fusion born right here and now. Additionally the trio offers a novel sound approach, which emphasized bass sound mixed up front, which is typical of Rock music rather than Jazz. The bass plays definitely a more dominant role in this trio in comparison to the classic Jazz piano trio approach, playing riffs more often than harmony. The drums also play more densely and energetically than in a Jazz setting, again pushing the music towards Rock. Finally the piano and even more so the keyboards sound as if taken from some late 1960s / early 1970s Progressive Rock recording. As a result this music completely eschews any attempt of genre definition and could be easily classified as Jazz, Rock, Prog or anything in between, but most importantly it is something completely fresh and surprising, which in itself is a miracle, as it often seems that music these days has very seldom to offer something as unpredictable as this album. Overall this is a stunning debut offering, which shows an incredible potential and talent, full of great tunes and superb playing by the trio members and opening new vistas previously unvisited, which is rare indeed. Regardless if one chooses to embrace it as Jazz, Fusion or Prog, this album deserves to be heard by as many listeners as possible, since it is both an excellent piece of music and a great fun to listen to. Well done Gentlemen!

Updated: 23/09/2020Posted: 12/11/2018

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ODDGEIR BERG TRIO ~ IN THE END OF THE NIGHT OZELLA 093 (Barcode: 4038952000935) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2018 Released: 2019 This is the second album by Norwegian pianist / composer Oddgeir BergFind albums by this artist and his trio with bassist Karl-Joakim WisloffFind albums by this artist and drummer Klaus Robert BlomvikFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten original compositions, all by Berg. The music is a continuation of the path set by the debut recorded a couple of years earlier, and manages again to float in-between strict genre definitions, combining Rock oriented compositions with Jazz-like execution, calling for improvisation by the pianist and to some extent by the bassist, but leaves the drummer to utilize Rock oriented rhythmic approach. The music is all based on precisely defined melodic themes, often sounding like straightforward songs, but the trio takes these melodies and transforms them into more complex pieces, which for lack of better definition can be considered as Jazz-Rock Fusion. The balance between the instruments remains fresh and quite unusual, with all three musicians sharing the responsibility for the emerging music on equal foot, and the usual division between the piano and the rhythm section is almost completely abandoned here. Overall this sophomore effort passes the dreaded "second album test" with flying colors, strengthening the trio´s status as a highly unique music making unit, which already defined a specific sound and style for itself, a process which usually takes quite a while to develop. This album can be enjoyed as much by Jazz listeners as by people with broader horizons, even those who are usually only Rock oriented. The music is universal enough to touch diverse audiences, without compromising its aesthetic qualities. Well done!

Updated: 23/09/2020Posted: 23/09/2020

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ODDGEIR BERG TRIO ~ WHILE WE WAIT FOR A BRAND NEW DAY OZELLA 103 (Barcode: 4038952001031) ~ NORWAY ~ Jazz Recorded: 2020 Released: 2022 This is the third album by Norwegian Jazz pianist / composer Oddgeir BergFind albums by this artist and his trio with bassist Karl-Joakim WisloffFind albums by this artist and drummer Lars BerntsenFind albums by this artist. Saxophonist Borge-Are HalversenFind albums by this artist guests on one track. The album presents nine original compositions, all by the leader. Berg defines the album as the last part of a trilogy, which started with the debut and closes with this album, recorded in the midst of the pandemic. Musically the album continues the path set by its predecessors, based on highly melodic themes, which are the basis of extensive, but not to complex improvisations. The pace of the music is somewhat more energetic in comparison to the Nordic atmosphere of the earlier albums and the sound is expanded with the used of keyboards in addition to the acoustic piano, which is still the main instrument. The new drummer also adds his personal touch to the trio sound, especially at the very high spectrum, with intensive usage of the cymbals. The music continues also to be somewhat cross-genre, with some of the tracks sounding more like Art Rock than Jazz, The slightly altered sound and musical direction push the music further out into the lighter flank of the Jazz spectrum, which can be enjoyed by listeners, who might not be Jazz connoisseurs per se, expanding its accessibility even further, which is not bad as long as there are no quality compromises involved. Overall, this is a solid piano trio Jazz album, which can be enjoyed by a wide range of listeners, who prefer the melodic touch rather than cerebral intensity. It should be interesting to witness Berg reinvent his music in its next cycle.

Updated: 11/08/2022Posted: 11/08/2022

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