La Notte Ketil Bjørnstad

• 1 La Notte, Pt. 1 06:54
• 2 La Notte, Pt. 2 08:24
• 3 La Notte, Pt. 3 04:39
• 4 La Notte, Pt. 4 05:28
• 5 La Notte, Pt. 5 08:33
• 6 La Notte, Pt. 6 06:44
• 7 La Notte, Pt. 7 07:05
• 8 La Notte, Pt. 8 07:00
• Total Runtime 54:47

Info for La Notte

Commissioned by the Molde International Jazz Festival and recorded live at the Norwegian festival in 2010, La notte is a salute to Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni, whom Ketil Bjørnstad counts amongst his formative influences. Playing alongside the pianist in this special band are prominent musicians from ECM's roster: fellow Norwegians Arild Andersen and Eivind Aarset on double bass and guitars/electronics respectively, British saxophonist Andy Sheppard, German cellist Anja Lechner, and Denmark's 'Queen of Percussion' Marilyn Mazur.

Bjørnstad says: 'At the same time that I discovered what jazz could be, after listening to Miles Davis' In A Silent Way, I also saw the films by Godard, Bresson and Antonioni. Perhaps it was the slow, rhythmic authority in the films by Michelangelo Antonioni that made me think of music... As long as visual art creates music in our minds, and music creates pictures and visual expressions with the same intensity, the two are deeply and profoundly interdependent'.

This album, then, can be considered 'the soundtrack to an inner film', in which Antonioni's images and atmospheres are translated and transformed through personal moods and memories. For the Molde concert, Bjørnstad convened an extraordinary group of musicians, old and new friends closely associated with ECM. The concert was rapturously received by the media, and described as an 'absolutely stunning performance'. (All About Jazz)

Ketil Bjørnstad, piano
Andy Sheppard, tenor, soprano saxophones
Anja Lechner, violoncello
Eivind Aarset, guitars, electronics
Arild Andersen, double bass
Marilyn Mazur, percussion, drums

Recorded live July 21, 2010 at Molde International Jazz Festival
Engineer: Jan Erik Kongshaug
Mixed at Rainbow Studio by Jan Erik Kongshaug, Manfred Eicher and Ketil Bjørnstad
Album produced by Manfred Eicher

Ketil Bjørnstad
described as “a cultural prodigy” by The Guardian’s John Fordham, started out as a classical pianist, making his debut with the Oslo Philharmonic, playing Bartók. Encounters with jazz of the late 1960s, especially Miles and Coltrane, changed his priorities and he was fascinated also by the new Norwegian improvising scene that ECM was documenting. Soon he switched streams and began playing with the jazz men. Simultaneously he has maintained a career as a respected writer with many books to his credit – novels, poems, essays and more.

Ketil Bjørnstad’s recent ECM releases have included “Life In Leipzig” with Terje Rypdal, the song cycle “The Light” with Randi Stene and Lars Anders Tomter, and “Remembrance” with Tore Brunborg and Jon Christensen.

Bjørnstad’s recordings have been incorporated in the soundtracks of numerous films, including several by Jean-Luc Godard: “Notre Musique”, “The Old Place”, “Histoire(s) du Cinéma”, “Forever Mozart” and “Eloge de L’amour”.

After playing double-bass with the Oslo Philharmonic Orcherstra and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Svante Henryson (born in Stockholm in 1963) effected an about-turn in his career and joined Yngwie Malmsteen’s band as bass guitarist in 1989. This led to much session work and collaborations in the pop world, and Henryson has appeared on recordings of Stevie Wonder, Ryan Adams and Elvis Costello, amongst others.

Self-taught as cellist, he has collaborated with many jazz musicians including Jon Balke, Nils Petter Molvaer, Trygve Seim, Arve Henriksen, Marilyn Mazur and Arild Andersen. In classical contexts he often works with Anne Sofie von Otter and has directed her tours of North America, Europe and Asia. As a composer he has written music for ensembles of all sizes – from symphony orchestra to chamber groups.

Booklet for La Notte