Fire! Orchestra

the new swedish ensemble cosmic ear is open to all kinds of influences, including hunters music from mali, gnawa from morocco, swedish folk and brazilian percussion, with the double bass providing solid grooves. the group continues the ideas of american free jazz legend don cherry, who moved to sweden in 1970 where he started blending spiritual traditions with jazz. an important contributor to cosmic ear is multi-instrumentalist christer bothén, who played with cherry. the founders of cosmic ear, saxophonist mats gustafsson and trumpeter goran kajfes, have played together in various large ensembles including fire! orchestra. in their new band they both play various instruments combined with electronics. original material by kajfes, gustafsson and bothén is mixed with compositional works by don cherry, his trio codona and frank lowe. bothén alternates various clarinets with donso ngoni, the large hunter’s harp from mali, which he had introduced cherry to back in the day.

for 55 years, orchestra baobab has filled venues and festivals across the globe with dancing crowds. their success story began in dakar, senegal, where the group picked up cuban styles like son and pachanga. starting at club baobab, built around the iconic tree, the group travelled extensively through west africa. all kinds of influences were integrated into the ‘baobab sound’, and the band continues to make their sound more thrilling than ever with lively twists and energetic additions. through the years, orchestra baobab’s infectious sound has evolved, in part by collaborating with griots, traditional local storytellers. the result is a unique blend of age-old traditions and the electric guitars of african pop music. a collaboration with senegalese star singer youssou n’dour at the beginning of this millennium gave the orchestra a boost, and they have been touring the world ever since. please note: tickets for this concert are standing-room only.

on the album elastic wave on ecm records, the gard nilssen acoustic unity achieved a balanced mix of acoustic jazz and free improvisation. the band members seemed to have achieved a perfect unity, so the time was right for a new challenge in the form of two extra saxophone players. signe emmeluth has performed on our stage several times, for example with her own band amoeba. kjetil møster previously played here with, among others, the trondheim jazz orchestra. drummer gard nilssen is one of the spearheads of progressive scandinavian jazz. alongside acoustic unity he’s part of bushman’s revenge, which has been described as the missing link between albert ayler and black sabbath. he also plays in amgala temple, which draws comparisons with jimi hendrix experiece and electric-era miles davis. and he leads the supersonic orchestra, which can sound as energetic as his other bands. this concert with his acoustic unity is the release concert for his new album great intentions.