Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (Exit) Knarr

young and experienced players from improvised music will encounter each other for three days at international jazz platform amsterdam. wrapping up the second day on our stage will be a true all-star group, known for their sensational interplay on sax, bass and drums with samples, electronics and turntables. Økse means ‘axe’ in danish and refers not only to one of humankind’s oldest tools, but also to the force and energy that connects us. Økse collaborated with various hip-hop artists on the eponymous album that appeared on backwoodz studioz last year, ‘a blast of a debut record somewhere in between nordic and haitian vodou symbolism’ (gonzo circus). all four members have previously performed on our stage: danish saxophonist mette rasmussen and swedish bassist petter eldh with their own formations, haitian turntablist val jeanty with kris davis and new york-based drummer savannah harris with or bareket.

early next year will see the release of the album the guesthouse, a new chapter in shai maestro’s creative journey. in the past years, the pianist developed his solo work, becoming a worthy successor to his great examples keith jarrett and chick corea, with a rich sound and open-ended improvisations. now he will focus on short compositions with clear, song-like forms. the album toom shape in his home studio in spain and was influenced by different artists ranging from rosalía to paul simon and john coltrane. shai maestro began playing classical piano at the age of five and after listening to oscar peterson at the age of eight he became enamoured with jazz. he turned down offers from prestigious american music schools to join the trio of famous double bassist avishai cohen at age nineteen. for five years he celebrated success with cohen and drummer mark guiliana. in his current band, shai maestro seeks interaction with gadi lehavi on rhodes and synthesizers, known from the ravi coltrane quartet. ‘maestro certainly lives up to his name. he is a joy to watch live’ (jazzwise).

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.