Bugge Wesseltoft

jazz, hip-hop, and soul, american artist julius rodriguez brings it all together. the young multi-instrumentalist moves just as easily between styles as he does between piano, drums, bass, and guitar. with his solo debut let sound tell all, he established himself as one of the most original voices in modern jazz. his second album evergreen (verve records) showcases how he breaks free from genres and styles. from hyperpop and drum-‘n’-bass to seventies fusion and ambient, everything flows together into a sound unmistakably his own. raised in new york’s vibrant jam scene, julius has collaborated with jazz icons like roy hargrove, wynton marsalis, kurt elling, and meshell ndegeocello (contributing to her grammy-winning album the omnichord real book), as well as recording with rapper a$ap rocky.

takuya kuroda’s playing is sure-footed and pure, whether on the horn, synth or rhodes. on his new album everyday he virtually dances among the infectious rhythms of his own creation. his trumpet playing pops and weaves and rings and his melodies are, as he puts it, “singable”. in his original compositions we hear influences from jazz as well as hip-hop and neo-soul. born in japan, trumpeter takuya kurado made his american breakthrough with the album rising son on blue note records. this taut mix of jazz, funk and soul was produced by singer josé james. soon after, kuroda played in the band of hip-hop legend dj premier, formerly of gang starr. he also performed with the akoya afrobeat ensemble. influences of all these projects can be heard in his current band. as a trumpeter, takuya kuroda has clearly developed his own style, with clifford brown and roy hargrove as his main examples.

for the first time they form a group, these four well-known players from norway, sweden and finland. throughout the years they have encountered each other in various bands and projects. as a result of that, we can hear a mutual respect on their new album. the foundation is formed by the lyrical compositions of saxophonist trygve seim and double bassist anders jormin. their imaginative improvisational playing is complemented in a sparse, but accurate way by trumpeter arve henriksen and percussionist markku ounaskari. arcanum’s eponymous debut album will be released this year on the well-respected label ecm recordings. alongside original compositions, it contains variations on the finnish traditional ‘armon lapset’, as well as ‘what reason could i give’ by ornette coleman. on the one hand, the music contains influences from various cultures, such as jormin’s composition ‘koto’, which was inspired by japanese traditional music. on the other hand, arcanum has a recognizable group sound that is related to contemporary jazz and free improvisation.